Kimi Raikkonen rejected an offer by the Toyota F1 team because he to wanted to drive a race-winning car and the team could not match Finn’s salary expectations.
In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen joined Scuderia Ferrari on a three-year contract. The Finn made a switch from McLaren and replaced the retiring 7-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher.
Kimi was fast and had shown great pace while racing with McLaren. And Ferrari wanted to acquire the services that they offered him a $45 Million annual salary. This made him the second-highest paid athlete in the world at that time.
In his first race for Ferrari in the 2007 Australian GP, Kimi took pole position, set the fastest lap and won the race. He would win the title by a single point ahead of the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
#OnThisDay in 2007, Kimi Räikkönen won the world championship after coming out on top in a 3 way battle with Hamilton and Alonso in which he was only 3rd going into the finale and was 17 points behind Hamilton going into the last 2 races, and is still Ferrari’s last champion 🔥💯 pic.twitter.com/uQLIYXFDPS
— Ethan 🇺🇸🦅 (@SargeantSZN) October 21, 2021
However, in 2008 and 2009 he did not enjoy a fruitful season. He finished 3rd and 6th in the standings respectively and fell out of favours with the Italian team.
Ahead of the 2009 season, Ferrari announced that the Finn would be leaving the team. Kimi was under contract to race for the team till 2010. He would be replaced by Fernando Alonso.
Kimi received offers from McLaren to partner with Lewis Hamilton. But the deal was scrapped and the team went ahead with fellow Briton and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button.
While new entrants Mercedes too showed interest. But they eventually signed Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. And this left Toyota, as the only possible option for the Finn to continue racing in F1.
Also Read: Renault made $21 million offer to Kimi Raikkonen that he refused
Why Kimi Raikkonen rejected Toyota
At the end of the 2009 season, Kimi Raikkonen was left without a seat in F1. The 2007 World champion received multiple offers but they all fell through.
Toyota offered Kimi Raikkonen a seat for next season. The team wanted to replace Timo Glock but was unable to make a satisfactory offer for Kimi.
But the team were facing severe Financial issues. Kimi rejected the offer as it was too low compared to what he was earning at Ferrari. Toyota’s President John Howett later confirmed that the Japanese team was not willing to increase its offer.
Howett had earlier said, “We don’t play too many games. We put on the table what we can afford and what we think is a serious offer in the current market.”
A random F1 fact:
McLaren were so impressed by Kimi’s performances during the 2009 F1 season (especially since Hungary) that they wanted to sign him for 2010. Martin Whitmarsh, who is a big Kimi fan, had made up his mind, but the deal fell apart at the last moment sadly 😔 pic.twitter.com/n0ZN7A0zoU
— Blitz (@Blitz211846103) August 11, 2022
Kimi would take a sabbatical from F1. The Finn would quit F1 for 2 years and switch to rallying and NASCAR. He would return to the grid with Lotus in 2012.
Kimi later revealed he was offered $10 million by Ferrari if he secured a seat at another team for 2010. And $17 million if he had to miss out on the season. Eventually, Kimi decided to opt for Rallying and take home the extra cash.
He also claimed that he rejected Toyota because he wanted to drive race-winning cars. Toyota however withdrew from F1 at the end of the 2009 season following severe Financial losses. Seems like Kimi made a wise decision indeed!
Also Read: When Michael Schumacher dropped $45 million a year salary just not to team up with Kimi Raikkonen
