When Kimi Raikkonen entered F1 in 2001, he immediately made the news of not having an F1 Super License. He was signed by Sauber, but Raikkonen had raced only 23 races until his F1 debut in the Formula Renault series.
After numerous rounds of negotiations with the FIA, Peter Sauber negotiated a deal to let the Finn race in 2001. And then Raikkonen established himself as a driver to watch out for, claiming points in his F1 debut.
But towards the end of his first year in F1, Raikkonen was offered a deal by McLaren. Ron Dennis, the CEO of McLaren wanted to sign the sensational driver replacing 2-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen.
McLaren offered to buy out the 2007 World Champion’s contract from Sauber for $14 Million. And this helped Sauber complete their operations on building a wind tunnel.
Kimi Raikkonen wanted to leave Sauber for McLaren
Raikkonen’s performances in his debut season raised many eyebrows. Raikkonen finished the 2001 season in 10th place in the standings and Sauber finished 4th in the constructor’s championship.
This brought attention from the likes of Ferrari and McLaren. And when McLaren approached the Iceman, he did not hesitate on saying yes.
Beat Zehnder, the team manager of the Sauber F1 team recalls the team had no other option by letting the Finn go. He said, “We didn’t let him go. In fact, We had to let him go. If you ask Kimi there was no option.”
Zehnder claimed the 21-year-old racer had always insisted on moving to a top team. He added, “We had a bulletproof 3-year contract with him. But he made it very clear that he is either gonna stop racing or move to McLaren.”
Ron Dennis eventually paid $14 Million to acquire the services of Raikkonen. This allowed Sauber to divert funds to their under-construction wind tunnel at Hinwil, Switzerland.
The team had planned on upgrading their facilities in 199, but construction only began in June 2002. Peter Sauber has invested around $ 55 Million in this project, with a sizeable chunk coming from Kimi’s transfer.
Zehnder acknowledges, “With the financial incentive from the deal we built out wind tunnel.” Sauber’s wind tunnel is still operational and is used by Alfa Romeo.
Also Read: How McLaren boss paid $14 Million to rescue Kimi Raikkonen from Sauber F1 team
Kimi sabotaged Red Bull’s relations with Sauber
Raikkonen was never Sauber’s first target in 2001. During that time Peter Sauber was asked to scout Enrique Bernoldi under the instructions of Red Bull Owner Dietrich Mateschitz
Mateschitz had purchased a majority share in the F1 team in 1995 with the intention of operating an F1 team. He was promoting talents like Bernaoldi who had links to Red Bull.
Bernauldi was promoted to Sauber’s test driver in 1999 and 2000. But the Brazilian’s Formula 3000 was subpar. Beat Zehnder claims the driver had more focus on partying than improving results.
Instead, Sauber shifted his focus to Kimi who was blazing through Formula 3000. Impressed by his record, the team arranged a couple of test runs for the Finn at Mugello and in Barcelona.
Sauber was happy with the Iceman and signed him over Bernauldi. This angered Mateschitz who sold Red Bull’s shares in the team to Credit Suisse as a mark of protest, ending their relationship with Sauber.
The legend is that in one of the tests, Michael Schumacher was present as he himself was completing tests for Ferrari. Schumacher was greatly impressed by the youngsters driving and lap times and asked Sauber to sign him. And there began the journey of one of F1’s most iconic drivers.
