Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren Star

McLaren Star® International
Presents:
"KIMI RAIKKONEN'S BIOGRAPHY"

Name Kimi Matias Räikkönen
Nickname Kimppa, The Iceman
Born 17th October 1979 - Finland
Lives Espoo, Finland / Chigwell, London, England
Height 1.75 m
Weight 62 kg
Brother Rami Räikkönen (Finland Rally Driver)
Hobbies Snowboarding, jogging and working out in the gym
F1 Debut Melbourne, Australia 2001
First Win Malaysia 2003

1987 First time in a kart
1988-1990 Karting, some wins in Classes A, B and C
1991 National karting, Class Mini
1992 National karting, Class Raket Junior
1993 National karting, Class Raket, Finnish Cup, 9th overall
1994 National karting, Class Raket, Finnish Cup, 2nd overall
1995 Formula A Karting: first race, and first win, 23rd April
1996 Karting Grand Prix (European Series); World Championship races and Nordic Championship races; no wins in Finnish Championship, Class Formula A, finished 4th overall
1997 Finnish Championship, Class Intercontinental A, Champion; Nordic Championship, Class
Intercontinental A, 4th overall; Karting Grand Prix and World Championship races - invited to drive with Peter de Bruin Team
1998 Lived in the Netherlands; Finnish Championship, class Formula A, Champion; Nordic Championship, Champion; Class Formula Intercontinental A, European Karting Grand Prix, winner; Super A, 2nd overall; Monaco Cup, class Super A, 3rd overall; World Championship, Formula Super A, retired from 7th position
1999 Finnish Championship, Class Formula A, 2nd overall; World Championship, class Formula Super A, 10th; First Formula Renault race, with Haywood Racing, 3rd; Formula Renault Winter Series, with Manor Motorsport - winner, four wins from four races
2000 British Renault 2000, Champion with Manor Motorsport (despite competing in only 10 rounds of the series), seven wins, six pole positions, seven fastest laps. Finished on the podium in all 10 races contested; European Formula Renault Championship: competed in only three rounds, two wins, two pole positions, two fastest laps. Retired while leading in third race due to mechanical failure. Tested for Red Bull Sauber Petronas Formula One team at Mugello
2001 F1 with Red Bull Sauber Petronas Teammate Nick Heidfeld
2002 F1 with West McLaren-Mercedes Teammate David Coulthard
2003 F1 with West McLaren-Mercedes Teammate David Coulthard

MORE INFORMATIONS ON KIMI:

Raikkonen first set foot in a kart in 1987 at the age of just eight. He spent the next three years racing in the occasional local races, picking up the odd win. He started competing in national championships in 1990, graduating through the ranks until he made the top echelon of the sport, Formula A, in 1995. Kimi won his first Formula A race in April 1995 and later that year was
invited to compete in the prestigious Monaco Cup. He retired while running a creditable fourth.
He had a barren year in 1996 but things really started to click the following season when he won the Finnish Championship. By this time, it was beginning to become clear that he had a future in the sport and in 1998, at the age of 19, he moved to the Netherlands in a bid tomake his name. It paid off. Kimi retained his Finnish title and clinched the Nordic and Intercontinental championships as well.
Although he remained in karting in 1999, Raikkonen was beginning to attract attention from the car racing world. He was invited to take part in a Formula Renault race by Haywood Racing and finished third on his debut. Another Formula Renault outfit, Manor Racing, were so impressed by his performance they immediately recruited him to compete in the Winter series. Raikkonen did not disappoint, winning all four of the races he competed in. A full season in British Formula Renault followed in 2000 and it only took Kimi ten races to wrap the championship up. He finished on the podium in every race, clinching seven wins. His magic touch continued when he moved up to European Formula Renault, winning two of the three rounds he took part in. He was leading the other race only to be hit by a mechanical failure. Raikkonen's performances caused Peter Sauber to sit up and take notice. The Swiss team boss, who had just lost Mika Salo to Toyota and Pedro Diniz to retirement, decided to give the 21-year-old a test at Mugello. The result was sensational. Raikkonen was quicker than regular Sauber tester Enrique Bernoldi straight away and made a major impact on the team. Peter Sauber recalls: "His first timed lap was incredible. Very, very special." He made an even bigger impression on Sauber's former technical director Sergio Rinland. The Argentinean said: "I haven't seen anything like this kid since Ayrton Senna." Also watching at Mugello was world champion Michael Schumacher, who was testing for Ferrari. The German was impressed with what he saw.He said: "I saw him driving at Mugello and I could see that he can be champion." Kimi won his first grand prix in Malaysia 2003 The Autograph Of Kimi: