After leaving McLaren in 2006, Kimi Raikkonen took the team’s mechanics to his home in Finland for drinks and snowmobiling.
Raikkonen, who retired from F1 in 2021 had one of the most unique personalities in the paddock. Other than his exceptional driving, the 2007 World Champion is known for his desire to stay away from the media, and his blunt replies to questions.
However, the ones who were close to Raikkonen insist that he was a different person outside of F1. They’ve all described him as friendly, and the ‘life and soul’ of a party.
This is the story of how I turned Kimi Raikkonen blue during an #F1 race as a prank…🤦♂️https://t.co/YWittkaNoD
— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) April 17, 2020
Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestly was a mechanic who worked at McLaren during Raikkonen’s time in Surrey. In his book about his time at McLaren, he shared insight on something Raikkonen did after his departure from the team.
Raikkonen showed gratitude to all McLaren mechanics by inviting them to Lapland in Finland. He even flew them to his home on a private jet. There, the mechanics spent a week that involved a lot of drinking, snowmobiling and checking out the Iceman’s personal collection of cars.
Kimi Raikkonen and his family welcomed the McLaren employees with open arms
Raikkonen drove for McLaren from the 2002 to the 2006 season. He didn’t win a Title with the British team, but spent some his best racing years with them. The fact that he was grateful to his team was evident by this gesture he made.
In his book, Priestly describes how Raikkonen’s dad them around the family’s car garage which had several off-road cars, bikes and even old F1 cars.
We’re going to miss you Kimi 💙
The Iceman’s final FP1 practice session of his career, and a cool shot of @alfaromeoracing’s livery tribute!
“Dear Kimi, we will leave you alone now” 😂#F1 🇦🇪 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/68f2h0qsSM
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 10, 2021
After that, they all went for a night-out and when they returned next morning, Raikkonen’s mom had warm cups of tea ready for them. Their return flight was also taken care of by Kimi Raikkonen himself, who thanked all of them for their five years of hard work.
Priestly feels that this trip provided him with a unique insight into Raikkonen and the type of family he came from. They were all surprised by just how welcoming the family was.
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