If you ask who was the most talented F1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen would be at the top of the list. The Finn is by far one of the best drivers to have graced the sport judged by their raw talent and sheer pace.
Kimi was a beast in his heyday. The former Ferrari and McLaren driver used to torment the F1 grid. And on a good day, he gave established champions like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso a run for the money.
Schumacher identified Finn’s talent when Kimi almost dethroned him from his consecutive titles in 2003. Kimi lost the championship by mere 2 points.
But Kimi’s weakness was his reluctance to go beyond, put in additional hours behind the wheel and learn his machinery. He also avoided interacting with the media and was pretty reserved.
Probably why Kimi only won one world championship in 2007. But his former engineer at Lotus believes the Finn could have crossed Schumacher and Hamilton’s records if he had been born in a different era.
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How Kimi Raikkonen stunned everyone at Lotus with his talent
After the 2009 season, Kimi Raikkonen took a brief hiatus from F1. The Finn would spend two years rallying and pursuing other sporting interests before returning to F1 with Lotus in 2012 alongside Romain Grosjean.
Kimi had been out of touch with the sport for two seasons. Furthermore, Lotus wasn’t like Ferrari. The team were a much smaller team that competed mainly to be the best of the rest.
Ricardo Penteado, head of the engine department recalls the team organising a pre-season test for Raikkonen in Valencia. And to familiarise him with the car the team also held a briefing a day prior.
However, Raikonnen skipped the activity and turned up for the test run. The Finn didn’t even know what were the buttons on his wheel. Yet, his lap times stunned the team personnel.
Despite spending 2 years outside of F1, the driver showed that he had never lost his hand. And he is still the fast, brilliant and socially reserved Finnish driver that left the sport in 2009.
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Penteado speaks about Kimi’s immense talent
Kimi Raikkonen had a difficult return back to F1 when he rejoined the sport in 2012. In Australia, his first race with Lotus, Kimi made a mistake in Qualifying forcing him to start P17.
But the Finn made a fantastic recovery and finished the race P7. Ricardo Penteado recollects it saying, “In the end, after an incredible race Kimi finished seventh after starting in 17th place.”
Penteado admits it was difficult for him and the entire team to a driver like Raikkonen. But he adds, “Raikkonen would have been world champion eight times if he’d been born 20 years earlier.”
The 2007 F1 champion drove entirely by feel and wasn’t worried about the technicals. “He needs very few tools and information to be fast. He has a natural talent for space and knows exactly how to win time with the right balance of the car.”
Eventually, Kimi would claim the team’s first race win in the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP. The race is famous for another classic Kimi moment, where he asked his radio engineer to shut-up mid-race.
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