Kimi Raikkonen: The Champion Year

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

KIMI RAIKKONEN

THE CHAMPION YEAR

2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

FOREWORD & CREDITS

Kimi Raikkonen is not a man of many words as this tribute to his 2007 Formula 1 world championship triumph will testify. Nevertheless, with his return to the pinnacle of the sport, we felt it apt to produce this ebook in honour of this achievement.

We are privileged to have been able to use the Ferrari F1 media archives to source great photos and the quotes by the Iceman during the course of his 2007 season - his first and most succesful of three with Ferrari.

Although Raikkonen did take the championship in the very last race of the season, it was a highly unlikely triumph and it took two magnificent victories in the final races of the season to ensure that Raikkonen’s name was etched alongside the greats of Formula 1.

Content

Kimi Raikkonen quotes and images provided courtesy of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 media service

Photography

Editor

Ercole Colombo for Ferrari Additional photography by Sutton Images Paul Velasco

Publisher

YallaF1.com

Production

E-Book by Motorsport27

Publication Date

12 December 2011

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

THE ARRIVAL DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERE

When I first went to the factory and for the test I noticed the atmosphere is different, is very good. It’s more like a family feeling, even if people are working as hard as they can, doing their best, it’s very relaxed and the people are easy to work with so I was very happy and that’s really what I expected and what I heard before, so I only have positive things to say. For sure, it’s very different from McLaren. For me, it’s only going in a positive way, so it’s been very pleasant.

I think red is more warm for sure. It’s very nice. I like the style of the team, with everything.

Of course it is a bit special to wear the Ferrari clothing for the first time and the racing suit is new and exciting. It’s always nice. Of course, we need to work together as well as we can. We need to change the way we work together. I am not Michael Schumacher and the team doesn’t expect me to be. They know that I work in a different way and we just need to find the best and most effective way to work together. I don’t see any problem with that.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

TESTING NICE AND EASY GOING

When I was at the test, what work I saw was nice and easy going, much easier work than it has ever been in F1. People always said it was going to be very difficult with Ferrari, but from what I saw, it’s been the complete opposite, so I only have good things to say about it. I don’t see any problems between me and the team and how we work together.

I don’t feel any pressure [replacing Michael Schumacher] because when I went to McLaren it was a similar situation and it was early in my career. Of course, coming here, people are always comparing to the previous driver who was Michael, the main guy in Formula One for many years.

It’s normal that people are expecting and comparing me but I don’t feel it. I just do my own thing and work on my own way. I think it’s going to take a while to get used to how the team works and also how I work so I don’t really feel pressure for that.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

TESTING NICE AND EASY GOING

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER AUSTRALIAN GP A FANTASTIC VICTORY

Melbourne 18 March 2007 A fantastic victory! It is great to be winning again with my new team whom I want to thank for giving me a great car. The race was not as easy as it might have looked from the outside, partly because shortly after the start, the radio failed so it was almost impossible to talk to the pit wall. Fortunately we had prepared well for the race and I knew what I had to do, but there were a few difficult moments.

I was not flat out all the time, adapting my pace to the way the race was going. It was nice to hear my national anthem again on the podium as it had been a while. I have to say that last year it seemed to be the Italian one I was hearing usually. This is a great way to start the championship. We know we have a very competitive package but we still have to work to make it even better and above all, reliable.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER AUSTRALIAN GP A FANTASTIC VICTORY

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

THIRD MALAYSIAN GP A DAY OF MIXED FEELINGS

Sepang 8 April 2007 A day of mixed feelings. On the one hand I am happy to have picked up six points, on the other, I am disappointed that the race did not live up to my expectations. This weekend we had to make some compromises on the car and that meant we were unable to exploit its full potential. Today we lacked a bit of speed when up against our main rivals.

I repeat that I’m a bit disappointed but I am also aware this is just the beginning of the season and that these points will definitely be important for the championship as it evolves. The team did a good job, given all the uncertainties we had. We have to try and improve to get one hundred percent out of all the elements of the package.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

THIRD MALAYSIAN GP A DAY OF MIXED FEELINGS

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

THIRD BAHRAIN GP NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED

Sakhir 15 April 2007 I am happy with these six points, but I can’t be completely satisfied with this result. At the start, I think I made a small mistake but I was still in a position where I could try and overtake Lewis, but in the end I lost a place to Alonso and spent all of the first stint right behind him, with no chance of getting by.

We managed it at the pit stop, but to be on the safe side we decided to shorten slightly the second stint. I managed to close on Lewis but then, with the different strategy it wasn’t possible to get by him. In the final stint, I chose to manage the situation given that I could not get past Lewis.

When you come up behind a car it gets hard to drive and today’s strong wind certainly didn’t make things any easier. We now have to work on improving our performance. In the next test in Barcelona, we have some new parts coming and I hope they will mean we can make a good step forward.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

DNF SPANISH GP NOTHING TO SAY

Catalunya 13 May 2007 Honestly, there’s little to say, except that I’m very disappointed.

I lost a place to Hamilton at the start, but made the most of the fight between Felipe and Alonso to get back to third.

I was running at a good pace and could have had a good result, but suddenly the car had an electrical problem and all I could was come back to the garage.

I have lost precious points but there are still thirteen races to recover.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

EIGHTH MONACO GP UPHILL BATTLE

Monte Carlo 27 May 2007 We knew we were facing an uphill battle and that’s how things turned out. I got a good start, quickly moving up to twelfth, but from then on I was nearly always in traffic, never getting any chance to overtake.

I never had a clear track ahead of me and it was only thanks to the strategy that I was able to make up some more places and get into the points, but I couldn’t do any better.

Obviously the situation in the classification is now a bit more complicated but there is still a long way to go in the championship and I am not the sort to give up.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

EIGHTH MONACO GP UPHILL BATTLE

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

FIFTH CANADIAN GP A VERY DIFFICULT RACE

Montreal 10 June 2007 It was a very difficult race for me, right from the beginning. I did not have much grip at the start, being on the dirty side of the track and immediately after, I hit Felipe’s car with my front wing. Then, there were so many safety car periods that it caused chaos.

On top of that, after Kubica’s accident, a piece of debris got stuck in my front wing and I had so much understeer and some difficulties with the brakes. All these problems put together made this a really complicated race. At the end of the day, I picked up some points: it could have been better but it could also have been worse.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

FOURTH UNITED STATES GP HIGH PRICE FOR BAD START

Indianapolis 17 June 2007 The car had a very quick race pace but I paid a high price for the positions lost at the start. We lost precious time behind slower cars and it is always difficult to overtake because when you close on a car ahead you lose so much aero downforce.

In the final stages I closed on Felipe but there was never a really clear opportunity to overtake him and we were both thinking about the next race where we use the same engine. We must improve, especially in qualifying, because our target has to be to try and win.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER FRENCH GP HARD WORK REWARDED

Magny-Cours 1 July 2007 Finally! Everything went the right way in my race. It was vital that I managed to get past Hamilton at the start and then I always tried to stay with Felipe. I knew I had a few laps in hand but, at my first pit stop, I had a bit of traffic and I was unable to get in the lead.

Then at the second stop, the situation was turned around and I came out in front. Right from the start of the weekend we have been strong and this win is the reward for all the hard work carried out over the past few weeks.

Now we must continue to improve the car because there is still room to do so, starting with the next race which we should tackle with the same approach that we used here in Magny-Cours.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER FRENCH GP HARD WORK REWARDED

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BRITISH GP A GREAT RACE FOR ME

Silverstone 8 July 2007 It was a great race for me. After my mistake in qualifying yesterday I was very disappoint was able to make up for it. If I had managed to start from pole though, things would ha easier.

The car worked very well both on the soft and harder tyres. We were strong all weeke this trend continues over the coming races, but I know how difficult that will be.

In the first stint, I tried to look after my tyres and save fuel. At one point I got very close didn’t want to take any risks hoping he would pit before me. In the second part, I knew A a different strategy and would stop before me.

I had to stay in touch and then push at the decisive moment. I am very happy. We h ground in the Drivers’ championship and there is plenty of the season still to go.

We must continue to push on the development of the car and we are working in the rig

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

ted, but today I ave been much

end and I hope

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have made up

ght direction.

WINNER BRITISH GP A GREAT RACE FOR ME

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

DNF EUROPEAN GP DISAPPOINTMENT

N端rburgring 22 July 2007 I am very disappointed. I was in a good position, immediately right behind Felipe and Alonso and the car was very quick and I was convinced I could win. But gradually, the hydraulic system began to malfunction, I began to lose time and then I was forced to stop.

This knock back does not mean I feel like giving up the fight, even if there is now one less race in which to compete. The gap to the head of the classification remains the same and anything can happen in the seven remaining races.

We have a very competitive car but clearly we have to improve on the reliability front.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

SECOND HUNGARIAN GP NOT COMPLETELY HAPPY

Hungaroring 5 August 2007 My main aim today was to make up points on my three closest rivals for the title. I did cannot be completely happy.

We knew we could count on a very good car in terms of race pace and so it was, as was occasions when I could drive with a clear track ahead of me, but it was not enough to w When you find yourself very close to a car with similar speed, unless it makes a mistak overtake, especially on a track like this one. I fought to the very end to try and win but I n to pass Hamilton.

We came in together for our first pit stop and at that point, the choice of fuel levels determ But bit by bit as the track rubbered in and got more grip, my performance improved. Clea suffer a lot in qualifying and we have to understand why.

I think that in the coming races the situation should definitely be better, starting in Istan

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

dn’t manage it and so I

clear to see on the few win. ke, it is very difficult to never had a real chance

mined the final outcome. arly, on some tracks, we

nbul.

SECOND TURKISH GP RACE DECIDED IN QUALIFYING

Istanbul 26 August 2007 Of course I would like to have won but probably the race was decided in yesterday afternoon qualifying session. When your main rival is your team-mate, there are less unknown facto and even less room to come up with something.

However, the important thing is to have put two Ferraris in front of everyone else and, any case, we have made up ground on the championship leader.

I got a good start then I had a bit of understeer which went away after a few laps. Th second set of tyres did not work as well as the first. The quick lap at the end? I was a b bored with spending the whole race behind another car and so I tried to see how quic could have been.

In Monza I will have to try and do a good qualifying to be in the best possible situation f the race.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

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THIRD ITALIAN GP NOT ENOUGH TO WIN

Monza 9 September 2007 This was definitely a tough race for me because of the pain I felt in my neck after yesterda enough to make it hard for me to hold my head steady under braking.

Having said that, today we were not really quick enough. We knew it would not be an already realized that in last week’s test, with Friday and yesterday confirming it. The car w but then we were not strong enough.

Hamilton’s overtaking move? I tried to defend my position but he was definitely quicker t slowed to save the car for the next race. We were keen to win in front of our fans but we I got onto the podium.

Now we tackle another fascinating circuit at Spa-Francorchamps where I think that we a more evenly matched.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

ay’s accident, which was bad

n easy weekend, as we had was not bad in the first stint

than me. In the final stages I e did not manage it. At least

and our closest rivals will be

THIRD ITALIAN GP NOT ENOUGH TO WIN

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BELGIAN GP A GREAT DAY

Spa-Francorchamps 16 September 2007 A great day! I had some doubts about the car’s handling after yesterday’s qualifying, but everything went well.

The car worked very well for the whole race: I was quick enough in the first part to control the race after that. It is nice to win here on my favourite track for the third time in a row.

Now we must continue to push.

We are still a long way off in the championship but we are not giving up and we will keep going right to the very end of the championship.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BELGIAN GP A GREAT DAY

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

THIRD JAPANESE GP THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS DIFFICULT NOW

Fuji 30 September 2007 We raced with virtually zero visibility. The hardest thing to work out was where the oth they were doing.

My race was ruined by the enforced pit stop on lap three. We had chosen to start on stan never know now if this decision would have paid off.

Once I was back at the pack we tried our best to move back up. All in all, third place is about. I did a lot of overtaking always in very difficult conditions. Our set up might have the dry, but all the same the car was very quick and I certainly didn’t lose any time becau Clearly the situation in the championship is now much more difficult, but I will still give it the season as usual.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

her drivers were and what

ndard rain tyres but we will

s not a result to complain been more competitive in use of this choice. t my all right to the end of

WINNER CHINESE GP WE NEEDED THIS Shanghai 7 October 2007 I am very happy! It is a really great result for me and the whole team, who done a truly excellent job.

We needed this win and we got it. At the start of the race, I had a lot of understeer but then the situation improved.

I was one of the last to switch to dry tyres but this was a help as after a little while the rain began to fall again.

Even after the second stop I had a bit of understeer, but as before, the situation improved in the final stages. I knew Alonso was very quick but I was in full control of the situation.

The car overall was working well both in the wet and in the dry.

Last week in Fuji, we were unlucky but today things went right for us.

We have had yet another example that in this sport anything can happen. The situation in the Drivers’ classification is still very difficult.

I will try everything to win in Brazil, even if the final outcome does not just depend on what we do.

It should be a great battle, very hard to predict and interesting.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER CHINESE GP WE NEEDED THIS

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BRAZILIAN GP AN INCREDIBLE EMOTION

Sao Paulo 21 October 2007 It is very difficult for me to explain in words what I am feeling at the moment: it is an incredible emotion.

I want to thank the team for everything they have done this year.

Even when we went through some difficult times and it looked as though there was no way to fight back, we never gave up and this work produced its reward today.

Thanks also to my parents, to my wife Jenni and everyone who believed in me.

I have achieved what I have been after for a long time. Now everything else will be an extra.

Today, Felipe’s help was vital and he was amazing. We had to get a one-two and then see what the others did. This time, things went our way and the unexpected did happen.

This has been a very nice year for me during which I have enjoyed Formula 1 like never before.

In Ferrari, I have found a great family and I am proud to have won the title with them.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BRAZILIAN GP AN INCREDIBLE EMOTION

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WINNER BRAZILIAN GP AN INCREDIBLE EMOTION

KIMI MATTIAS 2007 FORMULA 1 W

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

S RÄIKKÖNEN WORLD CHAMPION

WORLD CHAMPION KIMI RAIKKONEN HOMECOMING Zurich 23 October 2007 I am so happy it almost hurts! This is like a dream come true. This is something I wanted to reach since I’ve been a child.

I was seven years old when I first saw a race track: it was an old, small kart circuit called Bembole; just five kilometres from where I lived. It was like a second home for me.

Now, 22 years later, I have many favourite race tracks, but the most important one is Interlagos, more than 5,000 kilometres away from home! I’ve always said that the aim of my career is to become world champion. I came very close a couple of times and in the end everything turned out fine.

We have always given our best to try to win. Doing that in sport you have to always push to the max until the end. You never know what may happen in a race; you only have to look at the last three races and you know what I’m talking about. Fuji was really terrible for us: we were at the back of the pack and our race was over almost immediately.

We left Japan and were 17 points behind, without the possibility to fight back. I think I can say that not more than ten people outside of the team would have bet on us.

But we didn’t give up. In a certain sense we believe in miracles.

China was our joker: we won and the driver on the top of the standings didn’t make any points. That gave us some hope, but there weren’t many chances for us left. The last race was really emotional. The first four drivers in the field didn’t retire, but there was a tough fight for positions between us and our competitors.

Maybe I had the best start of the season and maybe I could have passed also Felipe

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

WORLD CHAMPION KIMI RAIKKONEN HOMECOMING at the first corner, but I had a plan and it didn’t involve a fight with my teammate. I could see in my mirrors that Hamilton was next to Alonso in turn 3 and that he had a problem. I realized that we had the chance we had hoped for: this first lap seemed to be decisive for the whole championship.

It was a great race and I think that I’ve never experienced such emotions in the cockpit.

Everything worked perfectly fine. It was like a birthday present from heaven! We could have had more pace and I want to thank Felipe again for his support: he did what he could do, just like a perfect teammate. As a team we couldn’t do more than a doublewin, but when I had crossed the line the most important thing to know was what Hamilton had done.

I asked for information over the radio but there was just silence for a couple of seconds: finally Chris told me that he came in seventh and my heart nearly went into flames due to happiness! This is it: now we’re world champions!

I want to thank all those who have been close to me over all these years, all my fans.

Thanks to the team: it is fantastic being a part of the greatest team of all times. This year I really enjoyed Formula One more than ever before.

I dreamt about winning the title with Ferrari and I bet that this is every driver’s dream. This team never stops: they work at the max and never give up. We had some difficult moments, but we always managed to come back. And this shows the quality of the people working there.

Thanks again! But I also want to thank the sponsors and partners: together with them we really have the package of a world champion!

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

KIMI RAIKKONEN THANKYOU WITH ALL MY HEART

Maranello 29 October 2007 These were joyful days with many celebrations. It seems I can’t stop smiling,” said Kimi.

“Wherever I go there are people who congratulate me. It seems that everybody in Italy is as happy as I am! Wednesday in Maranello was wonderful, when we celebrated the wins of the two Championships with everybody from the Scuderia. But I have to say that yesterday in Mugello was even better. In front of thousands of fans and numerous Ferrari clients.

When I was going to the race track in Tuscany I remembered the first time I drove a race car, back when I was driving in the Formula Renault and then my first race in Formula One with Peter Sauber. I remember these feelings, but it is really something else driving the car, with which I just won the Championship, here at Mugello: it was like a second triumph.

I was really happy and very proud being part of the Ferrari family when I saw all the fans celebrating. Thank you all so much, with all my heart!

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

KIMI RAIKKONEN THANKYOU WITH ALL MY HEART

There was a great surprise waiting for me after the celebrations at Mugello. I should have gone back to Switzerland but Jenni and my friends had planned something else. We went to Helsinki and celebrated the win with people who have always been close to me. This was a great way of coming back home for the first time as a World Champion. Now I’m on holiday.

I’ll try to chill out as much as I can and charge up my batteries. I drove almost every week during the last season and now is the time to think of something else than four wheels. I’ll try to forget Formula One a bit, but that will be difficult. This year was really special to me. I can say that I fell in love again with this sport. I won’t go to the tests in November in Barcelona, but I might be back on the track in December. It will be great to start my second year with Ferrari now that I won the title.

It will be a new challenge, even more exciting, because I want to feel this joy again, one more time!

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS

PARTING SHOT THE END

KIMI RAIKKONEN: CHAMPION YEAR 2007 IN HIS OWN WORDS