Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel shared one of the closest relationships during their time in F1. The former was often regarded as someone who didn’t talk a lot, and became famous for his blunt and short replies to questions asked by reporters in F1 weekends.
However, Raikkonen did label Vettel as the best friend he found in Formula 1. They spent a lot of time together as teammates at Ferrari, but they shared a special relationship even before that.
Raikkonen won the 2007 World Championship with Ferrari after which he spent a further two years at the Maranello-based outfit. In 2009, he decided to step to away from F1 and competed in other racing ventures in his time off. One of his passions he decided to explore was that of rally racing.
As a result, he decided to take part in the 2009 Nestle Oil Rally, which was an installment of an annual rallying event that takes place in his home country of Finland. For that race, Raikkonen teamed up with compatriot, Kaj Lindström.
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Sebastian Vettel wished luck to Kimi Raikkonen ahead of the race
Back in 2009, Vettel was still a relative newcomer to F1. It was his first full season with Red Bull, but it seems that he and Raikkonen already shared a close relationship. Ahead of the Espoo-born driver’s race in the Nestle Oil Rally, Vettel paid a visit to him.
A fan recorded the footage of Vettel arriving to the paddock, where not many people recognized him. When the fan pointed out that it was F1 driver Vettel, some fans came swarming in autographs from the German racing driver.
After greeting the fans, Vettel headed over to the pit-lane where he greeted Raikkonen and the two future-teammates shared a moment together. In the race, however, Raikkonen failed to shine as he and Lindström finished in 59th.
Vettel to make F1 return with Red Bull management?
Fast forward to 2023 and both Vettel & Raikkonen are now retired F1 drivers. Raikkonen left after the 2021 F1 season and Vettel followed suit last year. Vettel retired as a legend of the sport, with four World Championships to his name, all of which he won at Red Bull.
His immense popularity and reputed leadership skills have led to people speculating a return for the Heppenheim-born former driver in a management role. Vettel’s former boss at Toro Rosso, Franz Tost, claimed that he would be a perfect fit at Red Bull should he choose to return and be associated with the sport he loves so much.
