Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari career has come to an end and he will be racing for his boyhood team Sauber next year.
He has actually already made that move, testing for Sauber in Abu Dhabi yesterday. It was wonderful for the fans to see Kimi in all whites yesterday, seeming relaxed and at peace in his first little stint with Sauber, 17 years after he left the team for bigger challenges.
Kimi Raikkonen makes his return for Sauber as Sebastian Vettel sets the pace on the first day of #F1Testing at Abu Dhabi…https://t.co/3GVcywGNDK #SkyF1 pic.twitter.com/7SKIAUVzdJ
— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) November 27, 2018
His first outing wasn’t all that smooth though, as he had to use the fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
And the day then did not quite end well as Raikkonen suffered an on track stoppage.
Day One report: Kimi Raikkonen makes Sauber debut but ends day with on-track stoppage, while Sebastian Vettel sets #F1Testing pace for Ferrari
Oh, and welcome to F1, Compound 5…https://t.co/eyCHoF7t6D#SkyF1 pic.twitter.com/Itl8u3qtOn
— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) November 27, 2018
Now, apart from his brilliant return to his boyhood team, Kimi had more to celebrate as Pirelli gifted him with a small pirelli tyre, one that is won by drivers who secure pole position on Saturday.
Kimi got one of those during the Monza weekend, where he dished out the fastest ever lap on what was an emotional day for his family, as he had reportedly been told of his Ferrari exit.
Kimi had said in an interview that his kids are very fond of the tyre and he would need to get another one, as they keep fighting amongst each other for it.
He had said that he perhaps had to secure another pole to sort things out at home, but that couldn’t really happen for Kimi, as Monza was his only pole position this season.
Now, Pirelli have actually gone ahead and given Kimi a small Pirelli tyre so as to sort out everything in his house.
After #Kimi’s pole at #Monza, we needed to give him another mini-tyre so that his kids have one each! So this is for Rianna and Robin: you’ve got the coolest dad in the world 😎! pic.twitter.com/7F8czxIb4h
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) November 27, 2018