Kimi Raikkonen Would Have “Won More” if He Had “Work Ethic Like Michael [Schumacher]”, Says Ex-Teammate

If there had to be an award for one of F1’s most laid-back drivers of all time, Kimi Raikkonen would have been the first pick for many. But don’t let the laid-back attitude that made the Finn a fan-favorite define just how good of a driver he was. In his prime, the Iceman was one of the most feared competitors. However, had he been just that little bit more hard-working, he could have won a lot more. That’s what David Coulthard feels.

Raikkonen treated F1 like a hobby, something he admitted to in the past. Despite that, he became a World Champion in 2007 and got 21 wins under his belt — a career most drivers would love to have.

This just shows how talented Raikkonen was and Coulthard feels that had his work ethic been like Michael Schumacher’s, he could have been just as successful. “He was just a great, great natural talent,” Coulthard said on The Red Flags podcast.

During Raikkonen’s peak driving days, he was at McLaren, a team that was plagued with reliability issues. Maybe if that wasn’t the case in Woking, Raikkonen could have won more World Championships. Coulthard, however, doesn’t think so. “If he had the ‘work ethic of Michael, I think he would have won more,” the ex-Red Bull driver continued.

Schumacher would put in hours at the factory, standing with engineers and mechanics to go over what needed to be done to make the car faster. This made the driver “more empowered,” in Coulthard’s words.

Coulthard ended with, “I stand by work ethic. It’s the difference between being a humble one-time World Champion or what he [Raikkonen] could have been.” 

For Raikkonen, however, winning just one title was enough, after which he stuck around in F1 because of his sheer passion for racing. After retirement in 2021, he started taking another aspect of his life pretty seriously.

F1 paddock’s next Raikkonen in making?

Raikkonen left F1 at the age of 42 to spend more time with his family. His youngest son Robin, however, has taken him back to the tracks, this time as a mechanic, something he revealed during his return to the paddock as a guest in Monza earlier this year.

Robin is already making waves in karting and has started winning trophies, which indicates that he could follow in his father’s footsteps in the years to come. Kimi himself has spent a lot of time grooming him, and his experience would certainly be priceless.

However, there is no pressure. “Everything is going nicely. We’ll see. If something comes or not, who knows? But he’s having fun – that’s the main thing,” the former Ferrari driver declared.