Kimi Raikkonen arrived on the Formula One scene in 2001 driving for the Sauber-Petronas team led by Peter Sauber. Raikkonen had little experience of single seater racing and his arrival was greeted with scepticism by some observers. After his debut year with Sauber Raikkonen was snapped up by McLaren for the 2002 season and rapidly established himself as a serious title contender. In 2003 and 2005 he finished runner up in the World Championship first to Michael Schumacher and then to Fernando Alonso. Although he scored a total of nine wins for McLaren the drivers title eluded him and in 2007 he switched to Ferrari as a replacement for the retiring Schumacher. It was to be a good move for the Finn dubbed the 'Iceman' for his cool and moody character as he proceeded to dominate with six Grand Prix wins and three pole positions taking the title with a final tally of 110 points. 2008 and 2009 however were more difficult seasons for Ferrari and Raikkonen whose on-off form saw him notch up a further three GP wins but he only managed to finish 3rd in the 2008 title race and dropped further to finish 6th in 2009. Raikkonen was replaced at Ferrari by Fernando Alonso for the 2010 season and having failed to secure another competitive drive in F1 switched to the World Rally Championship with the Citroen Junior Team.
For the record
Nationality - Finnish
Born 17th October 1979
First GP Australia 2001
Total GP's 157
Wins 18
Poles 16
Fastest laps 35
Total points 578
Teams
-Sauber Petronas
-Mclaren
-Ferrari
World Champion
-2007
