“He’s not in F1 because of his second name”- Kimi Raikkonen clears Mick Schumacher of nepotism

“He’s not in F1 because of his second name”- Kimi Raikkonen claims that Mick Schumacher has grabbed his seat in Formula 1 through merit.

Before entering Formula 1, Mick Schumacher bagged the Formula 2 title, but there is still many who consider his privilege playing a huge part in his upward trajectory in his career.

But Kimi Raikkonen suggests otherwise and claims rather Schumacher’s merit brought him here. The Finn race driver will compete with him in Bahrain, 20 years after when Raikkonen first competed against his father.

‘‘Sure part of it is that (people having a lot of goodwill for him because of his Dad), but he’s not in F1 because of his second name,’’ said Raikkonen.  

”It’ll be exciting to see; hopefully, he has a decent car. He reminds me a lot of his Dad. I’m very happy for him.’’ When Raikkonen made his debut Michael Schumacher was still at the peak of his career, dominating Formula 1 with Ferrari.

The fun part of racing that it keeps changing

Raikkonen is by far the most experienced F1 driver in the history of the sport, as he is set to make his 330th start in the 19th season of his career, and when asked whether he has the same qualities even now?

”Not if I’m fast or not, you know,’’ the Finn quipped in an interview with Sky Sports F1. ”I try my best, and for sure the sport has changed since 20 years ago, and some days it’s a bit harder than others… but that I guess the fun part of the racing.’’

”I think everybody is excited to see what happens, but it honestly doesn’t really dictate if I am racing or not,’’ he said. ”I hope for the sport; I think everybody hopes for the sport that it does what they say it’s been planned to do.’’

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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