The "Iceman" exudes warmth on Formula One return

Former world champion Kimi Räikkönen is happy to be back in Formula One but unsure of how long he will be staying as he remains convinced there is much more to life than motor racing

The 32-year-old Finn walked away from the sport apparently disinterested in 2009 after a three-year stint with Ferrari during which he brought the sport's most famous and glamorous team their last drivers' championship in 2007.

Although Räikkönen could never be accused of being effusive, in public at least, he was polite and engaged as he discussed his return at the Lotus team hospitality area at Albert Park, the venue for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"I'm always happy, if you're not happy, you do something else," he said in his familiar monotone, his arms folded in front of him and his eyes hidden by a huge pair of reflective sunglasses.

"It's good to be back in racing. Hopefully we're going to have a good year but we don't know yet.

"If we are last, then I am disappointed but I don't think we are going to be last. The car feels good but are we fast enough? I don't know."

Räikkönen, who has always had little time for the hoopla that surrounds Formula One, said he was back simply for the racing.

"The racing is the main thing, drivers like to race, that's not any secret," he said. "That's what I want to do... and the rest is part of it."

Nicknamed the "Iceman", Räikkönen spent his two years away from Formula One racing in the world rally championship, something he said he would like to keep up despite his return.

He had earlier drawn gasps of surprise from a packed news conference when he declared that he had not watched much Formula One during his time away.

"I don't care what they think," he said. "There's an awful lot of other things in life than Formula One. Maybe some of the people here don't have anything except Formula One in their lives.

"That doesn't mean if I don't watch the race, I don't like it. I never said that, I have always liked the racing, I always liked Formula One.

"There are certain things on the outside in Formula One that I'm not the biggest fan of, but I have never hidden that.

"People can think what they like but I have other things to do at that time. I had my own things to do and not sit in my home and watch racing."

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP

One of the other things Räikkönen has clearly never liked in Formula One is the team politics. He said, nevertheless, that he had no ill-feeling for Ferrari and had enjoyed catching up with team boss Stefano Domenicali in Melbourne.

"I never had any issues with anyone there - well, maybe one person," he recalled. "As I said on the day I left, I wouldn't change anything. I had a good time with them, some bad times too, I achieved the championship with them."

Perhaps the fact that he left Ferrari with a year left on his contract makes him reluctant to predict how long his comeback will last despite having signed a two-year deal with Lotus.

"Who knows? I have no plans," he said. "I have a contract, but sometimes when you have a contract, it doesn't mean anything in Formula One. You never know in Formula One. So just wait and see what happens in the future."

Räikkönen said the early days of his relationship with Lotus, who raced as Renault until the end of last season, had been positive.

"So far, I haven't found any bad things in Lotus, they are nice people and they like racing and not so much politics, they want to do racing and they want to do it well," he said. "That's a good sign."

That relationship will only have been improved by the surprising pace the car showed in pre-season testing.

So could he spring a major surprise at a circuit where he scored a point for Sauber on his Formula One debut in 2001 and won in his first race for Ferrari in 2007?

"I haven't though that we're going to win," he said. "In testing the car felt good and everything worked pretty well. But if we are fast enough? I don't know. Nobody knows.

"You always try to win races and championships but there's not many years you can do it," he added. "Sometimes you win races, sometimes not. You aim for the top always, but if it's not going to happen we have to accept other results.

"That's the first aim and we'll have to see what we can do."

Source: Reuters Sports

Ten Questions to Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen, known as 'The Iceman', is famous for giving very little away when it comes to interviews. But in the searing heat of Greece we managed to make him melt. A little, at least...

What is your favourite rally?
“There are still some rallies that I haven’t tried yet, so I don’t know. But it’s always nice to go home to Finland, so I’m looking forward to that rally.”

What was your favourite Formula One race?
“I like Spa as it’s a great track but my personal favourite race was Brazil 2007 when I won the championship. It was a crazy race and I just had to go flat-out.”

How tricky was it coming back into the rally car after missing two events?
“That wasn’t so easy because I still don’t have a lot of experience and the last car I drove was a NASCAR truck, which was quite different!”

How’s the NASCAR going?
“It’s good fun actually. It’s another completely different style of driving, but it went quite well and I’m going to do some more later on this year.”

Is rallying still your main priority?
“Yes, rallying is still definitely the main focus. I’m enjoying myself and I think I’m making progress: now we do most of the rest of the season.”

What have you learned most this year?
“That you need experience in rallying to do well and there is no short cut. And also that you need your pace notes to be exactly right. It’s a bit like Formula One: it’s always the last little bit that makes the difference but that last little bit is always the hardest one to find.”

What do you do to relax at weekends?
“Just relax with friends and go on my boat. The boat is perfect as nobody can bother you.”

Who were your heroes in racing and rallying?
“I don’t really have heroes. But looking back in the past, I always liked the character of James Hunt in Formula One and in rallying Tommi Makinen is a really good guy.”

What are the most important things that you pack to go on a rally?
“My computer and my mobile phone so that I can stay in touch with people and watch some videos.”

What’s your favourite vegetable?
“Potatoes. But I eat most things.”

Source: WRC

Kimi Räikkönen: F1 Misses the Iceman

As Mika Hakkinen’s illustrious career was coming to an end, another Flying Finn was ready to take his place on the grid and in the McLaren F1 team. Kimi Raikkonen of Finland had completed a mere 23 races apart from go-karting before he was drafted by Peter Sauber in his Formula 1 team. The FIA reluctantly granted this unknown Finn a super license to compete in the 2001 season.

Despite being numerically outperformed by his team mate Nick Heidfeld, his cool head behind the wheel was not unnoticed. Much to the annoyance of the German, Kimi was chosen over him to replace the ‘on sabbatical’ Hakkinen in the McLaren hot seat.

McLaren

2002 was Kimi’s first season in McLaren and it was another year of Schumacher-Ferrari domination. The ‘Iceman’ almost won his first race in the French GP, only to slip on a patch of oil on the track and let Schumacher pass him for first. Someone like a Hamilton or Vettel may have wallowed at the Podium or press conference, but Kimi was poker-faced and monotonous as usual.

In his frustrating stint with the Woking team, Raikkonen mounted credible title challenges in 2003 and 2005. The first of these was a three way battle between himself, Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher. Eventually, Schumi edged the young Kimi by 2 points. Reliability cost Raikkonen the title in 2005, where he actually won the same number of races (7) as the eventual champion Alonso. On two occasions, his McLaren let him down while he was in the lead and on both occasions, Alonso took advantage to win the race.

Twice in the 2005 season, Raikkonen started the race dead last (due to engine failures in Qualifying) and finished on the podium. In one of the most memorable races of his career, Raikkonen starting from 17th place, won the Grand Prix in Suzuka Japan. He hunted down his rivals one by one, stormed past the likes of Alonso, Schumacher and passed the race leader Giancarlo Fisichella on the last lap of the race! It is doubtful if the modern day punks like Hamilton and Vettel can match that.

Ferrari

Sadly, Kimi’s McLaren was much too fragile to win him World Championships and he made the switch to Scuderia Ferrari in 2007 to fill the boots of Michael Schumacher. It can be an intimadting task for anyone to replace a legend of the sport. It didn’t seem to affect Raikkonen. He was notably absent in a media event where Schumi would ‘hand over’ his place to Kimi. When asked about it, Kimi replied in his typical monotonous tone – “I had gone to take a s***”. He never gives any, that’s for sure.

In Ferrari, he won his first race and made a strong start to the season. The 2007 season was a four way tussle between Kimi, Massa, Hamilton and Alonso. Massa fell away and it came down to the other three in the last race of the season. As things stood, Hamilton had 107 points, Alonso 103 and Kimi 100. So, for Raikkonen to win the Championship, he had to win AND hope that Alonso finishes 3rd or below AND Hamilton finishes 7th or below.

Kimi qualified 3rd behind teammate Massa with Hamilton in 2nd place. In a clever opening move, Massa pulled ahead of Lewis Hamilton and slowed down, allowing Kimi to pass both of them on the first corner. Hamilton then lost his bearings and though he will never admit it, accidentally pressed the Pit Lane speed limiter button. When he finally realized it, he was in last place. Hamilton could only finish 7th, and the Ferraris finished one-two. Thus, Kimi became World Champion in the most dramatic fashion, finishing a mere 1 point ahead of Alonso and Hamilton.

Driving Style

Kimi liked adventure in his driving. He never fussed much about the car setup with his mechanics and engineers, choosing to simply drive what he got. His only preference was to have a slight understeer, which enabled him to make a wide swinging turn out of the corners. Perhaps he got a kick out of the extra acceleration. Naturally, he enjoyed the ups, downs and twists of Belgium Spa Francorchamps the most, and was rightly called the ‘Spa Master’.

Apart from this, Kimi was a smooth driver, easy on the tires, brakes and good at overtaking (Fisichella can testify). He was as brief and monotonous on the car radio as he was in press conferences and as cool as ever. This sometimes led to criticism over his motivation levels by some commentators. But of course, he never gave a s**t.

Personality and Legacy

In 2009, Raikkonen left Ferrari and F1 itself to join rally car racing. With a solitary championship to his name, he wont be considered one of the ‘greats’, but he will never be forgotten either. Raikkonen was a man who thoroughly enjoyed racing and didnt care about the rest. While drivers like Schumacher and Hamilton obsess about rivals, car setup and so on, Raikkonen simply turned up, set the track on fire and left in the evening without a fuss.

Behind his ice-cold face and monotonous voice, was a colorful personality. No wonder he entered a snowmobile race under the pseudonym “James Hunt”, a party loving personality from the 70s. While many of the drivers nowadays are PR stuntmen, Kimi lived his life for himself. He celebrated his championship by getting drunk, being thrown out of the bar and sleeping on a public bench with an inflatable dolphin. He also once, fell headfirst in a yacht while being drunk.

He never apologized for any of it, he didn’t have to. Kimi never kept any pretenses, preferring to speak little, let his driving do the talking and enjoy himself off the track. With his retirement (doesn’t look like he will be back), F1 has possibly seen the end of an era.

Source: Sportskeeda
Courtesy: Sleenster

Icemen and frostmen

Kimi Räikkönen is a worldwide known iceman in motorsport who even drives as a master in his own ICE1 Racing -team. He started the season in the arctic Sweden in a cool way and got immediately a number 9 from his co-driver Kaj Lindström for his performance.

But the real iceman was however Jari-Matti Latvala who literally froze in Ford's cockpit a couple of times.

Latvala who had over-aggressively setup and whipped his new car was jumping in the snowbanks all the time. Ford almost ran out of front bumpers because they couldn't take this kind of handling. All and all Latvala left behind him 4 bumpers on the roads .

The Ford came again on Sunday morning so air-conditioned that both driver and co-driver Miikka Anttila were shaking from shivering with their hands and feet frozen. The heat batteries melted the frozen men and Latvala found a rhythm for the afternoon so he could get in 3rd like last year.

Malcolm Wilson was shaking his head because Latvala's weekend was one rollercoaster - at times completely spectacular driving, at times nothing but a nightmare. Yet Wilson strongly believes that someday pieces will fall in place and that's when Latvala will be celebrated as a champion.

If Räikkönen and Latvala were the icemen of the weekend then the actual frostman was Mikko Hirvonen who frosted his nerves. Hirvonen's second win in a row from Sweden restored both his own as his team's confidence.

Wilson especially praised his more experienced driver's performance that was almost perfect and came under the hardest pressure on Sunday morning.

The first victory with the new WRC-car is an important milestone for Ford and it's crowned by a triple victory, but the truth is that it's impossible to say at this point if Ford has been able to get ahead of Citroen in the long run also.

Turun Sanomat, Hagfors

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi Räikkönen got his own selection of fan-hats

The selection has been designed by helmet-painter Uffe Tagström, who also paints Kimi's helmets. Several F1-drivers are also this known artist's clients.

The Iceman -selection has six different hats. The selection was first approved and lisenced by Red Bull.

The selection will be in stores by the time Finland's WRC-rally is, 29-31.7.2010. So far you can only get them from Finland, the WRC-stores will start selling them around the whole world later on. MPH Headgear Oy expects to sell tens of thousands hats in Finland.

Source:MTV3

Courtesy: Nicole

Erzbergrodeo XVI: Former Formula-1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen challenges the “Iron Giant”!

It’s all about speed! Though the Erzbergrodeo is best known as the world’s biggest Offroad event for motorbikes, Citroen WRC factory pilot Kimi Räikkönen will try to beat the Iron Road Prologue’s top time on 4 wheels.

Räikkönen will be challenged by none other than Taddy Blazusiak. The polish KTM factory rider is regarded as the world’s most dominant Xtreme Enduro rider and has won the notorious Red Bull Hare Scramble at Erzberg for three years in a row. Taddy will attack the „Iron Giant“ with his 2-stroke KTM and is once again one of the clear favourites to grab the prestigious Hare Scramble win in 2010.

In cooperation with Red Bull and KTM, Erzbergrodeo-Mastermind Karl Katoch presents the spectaculous fight Rallye-Car versus Offroad motorcycle on June 6th as one of the highlights at the 16th Erzbergrodeo. „We are really happy that Kimi has taken up this challenge with enthusiasm. Our spectators will have the outstanding possibility to witness the ultimate comparison of a high-tech Rallye car versus the ultralight and powerful Enduro motorcycle.“, says Katoch.

Räikkönen will be the first to attack the Iron Road Prologue’s 13 kilometer long gravel track with his more than 300 hp strong Citroen C4 WRC car. The 2007 Formula-1 World Champion has recently changed from his Ferrari cockpit into the highly competitive WRC Rallye Championship for 2010 and is currently ranked 10th place overall after 4 rounds. It’s more than obvoius that the blazingly fast Finn will arrive well prepared and fully loaded at Erzbergrodeo!

After Kimi’s dust has settled, Taddy Blazusiak will fire up his KTM 250 EXC and head towards the Erzberg’s summit to beat Kimis time. Not an easy task at all - but even though Räikkönen has way more horsepower under his wheels, Blazusiak will have the advantage of the ultralight and better handling of his motorbike on his side. The KTM can reach a high speed of 140 km/h and more on the wide gravel road and can go faster through the Prologue’s numerous hairpins.

No matter, who’s gonna win this challenge in the end – one thing is absolutely for sure: Motorsports fans from both sides can look forward to breathtaking drifts and astounding action at the Erzbergrodeo XVI.

Kimi Raikkonen takes delivery of his KTM 250 SX-F

Raikkonen is now the proud owner of a KTM 250 SX-F.
Kimi (Iceman) Raikkonen is no stranger to the excitement of high-tech motorised machinery and the thrill and success it can deliver on the world’s elite racing circuits. The 2007 Formula One World Champion and World Rally Championship driver has now added another racing machine to his collection. Raikkonen is the proud owner of a KTM 250 SX-F so he can look forward to some speedy offroad action in the future. Kimi, who certainly shares the KTM “Ready to Race” philosophy, is of course also a very welcome new member of the international Orange Family.

Source: Erzbergrodeo.at(English version)

Courtesy: miezicat

RÄIKKÖNEN ON SPARKLING FORM IN TURKEY

In Turkey, Kimi Raikkonen led from start to finish. At the beginning, he briefly lost the lead but the flying Finn soon took it back. Conditions were hot, but not as hot as people expected, and although it was Kimi's first time there he put on a dominant performance to win in Istanbul. Victory for Raikkonen!

Actually, what we are talking about here is not the second day of the Rally of Turkey, which came to a close this evening, but Kimi's win at the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in 2005.

The Iceman's memorable Formula One victory in Turkey was the sixth out of his 18 Grand Prix successes, on a circuit that coincidentally runs right next to the Rally of Turkey route this year. The second day of the rally may not have concluded with champagne for Kimi - particularly as there is another full day of driving to tackle tomorrow - but he was still on sparkling form from start to finish.

In fact, his faultless performance on the second challenging day of the Rally of Turkey was probably just as much of a success as his triumph on the Istanbul Park circuit just under five years ago. For someone who has completed just two World Championship rallies in a World Rally Car, Kimi's progress was nothing short of astonishing. Starting the day eighth, he ended up sixth.

"You can't compare the Turkish Grand Prix with the Rally of Turkey because they are so different, but for me, the rally is definitely more difficult," said Kimi, cutting a cool figure in the service park with his Red Bull cap and trademark sunglasses. "This takes just as much concentration as winning a Grand Prix; in fact maybe more as so many things are new to me. But today was a really good day. We were able to set times that were closer to the guys in front and that's the main thing. What I'm really pleased about is that we could do it without taking big risks. We even stalled a couple of times, so if you take that away then the times are not bad at all. Let's see what happens tomorrow but for now it's going really well and I'm feeling comfortable."

Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has less experience of winning Grands Prix, but he still knows a good performance when he sees one. "I'd say that today is the best time that myself and Kimi have had in a rally car together so far," he said. "It comes from a lot of things: more time in the car, more confidence, and more practice with the pace notes. Put all those things together and you end up with a pretty good performance, which is what we saw today."

Source: Red Bull - RallyBuzz

Kimi Räikkönen: Rally vs. F1, which one is better for the Iceman?

Képes Sport is comparing Rally-Kimi to F1-Kimi

Here’s a competition, the winner, we know already. Despite this fact the competition is not over yet because we compare the past and the future. Though to choose between F1 and rally is not easy we still try to compare the 2 Kimis.

Excitement

Rally-Kimi: 1 point

There’s no secret in it, Kimi was bored in F1. After 9 years of racing he didn’t like it that much towards the end, like he used to dig it in the beginning. The rally though is completely different: the natural surrounding, the challenge on the more longer weekends, the diversity of the grounds and the absolutely new technical challenges are all there to cheer Kimi up, who, at the age of 30, would feel happy about working again. But, let’s not feel sorry for him for his past…

F1-Kimi: 0 point

Going flat out with a couple of hundred horse powered car doesn’t belong to the boring things. Overtaking at 280 km/h isn’t depressant, fight for hundreds of a second during qualifying on Saturday afternoons surely is not an unstressful relaxation. Despite of all these F1 is too sterile, too sacred compared to rally, everything is foreseeable and the laboratory circumstance is not so exciting for the pilots.

Money

Rally-Kimi: 1 point

Let’s admit, nobody would ever think even for a second that this valiant Finn multimillionaire has switched one sport for the other because of the money. First at McLaren later at Ferrari he had earned sidereal amount of money, he has been in the close elite group of the most richest sportsmen for years, he has been given 10 million euros for the early exit from the Italians so earning 3,5 million euros for rallying doesn’t lift his estimated 100 million euros possessions that much.

F1-Kimi: 1 point

You can earn royal amount of money in the pinnacle of motorsport, especially in the „dominant categories” that Kimi had been the part of from the very beginning of his career. Moreover, he had belonged to the part of the most privileged. In the group with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso who could get what they wanted. But as we know it, at this level the money is not the most dominant factor.

Hype

Rally-Kimi: 1 point

Rally has giant fanbase. Let’s lay it down because people would think that it’s just a tolerated little brother compared to F1, at least in Hungary. But at a rally event there are a couple of 100.000 spectators and a former F1 world champion’s switch to rally surely can raise the interest. Just an example: the Finnish MTV3, that broadcasted Kimi’s first WRC event, could produce its history’s 3rd biggest attendence during the rally weekend, while the championship’s official homepage has reached a record-braking amount of 8 million viewers.

F1-Kimi: 2 points

Nice, nice but despite of all our good intentions we cannot say that the two sports are in the same level at least if we are talking about media interest. The „Flat-out circus” is worthy of its nickname because the participants surely can count on the constant and searching attention. So the point is here, though we would inaudibly like to mention that this is a positive thing in Kimi Räikkönen’s case.

Work

Rally-Kimi: 2 points

To specify, the plus work that comes with the driving. From that, the rally drivers have more than enough because while driving in the beautiful nature you can easily mess up a corner or after a bad flying you have to turn around the car on the road by hand or get it out of a hole. Besides the danger is constant, if you have a puncture there’s no external help, on the track the driver and the co-driver have to grab the lever or use the wheel nut key.

F1 Kimi: 2 points

At the beginning it must have been quite strange that if something went wrong on the track you just had to drive into the box and dosens of mechanics started to work on your car. In F1 pilots have nothing to do but driving the car (it’s not slim though), in rally the challenge is much more complex.

Chance

Rally-Kimi: 0% (2 points)

"As a sportsman this has to be my biggest challenge, I have to learn everything from the very beginning. I know that the 4 best pilots’ pace is unattainable, but no one would think that Sebastien Loeb could beat Sebastian Vettel right away in F1." Well, if the concerned himself is thinking about it this way then why should we argue with him? Knowing the fact that at his 2 WRC races so far (Sweden and Mexico) he couldn’t get any points.

F1-Kimi: 3 points

Had he stayed in F1 he could have had the chance to finish in the points at every race – and not just because of the reform of the point system. Kimi was doing his job at a half-mind throughout the season last year but without a doubt he belonged to the probable winners every time. During his 9 years' career in F1 18 wins, 579 points and one world championship in 2007 has not been achieved by accident so these facts could be a good starting point for the experts to count him among the probable winners in every year. If the „if” wouldn’t be there…

Supporters

Rally-Kimi: 3 points

One certain point at the previous chapter, one certain point here. It’s fair this way. And it’s rightful because competing with the rally fans is not easy. In snow (Finland or Sweden), in hot weather (Mexico), in the mountains (New Zealand) or in the dust (almost everywhere) – they are everywhere near the tracks. Even at the very hardly accesable points, with hours of tough walking, even in the mountains they are near the tracks, sometimes too near. Bravery, fanaticism, tenacity – they can get a point for this.

F1-Kimi: 3 points

The F1 supporters are spoilt „English Ladies” compared to the rally fans, if we may say so. Though they can be ready for a couple of hours walking through the fields in the hot weather (Hungaroring), soaking in the rain (Sepang) or brave the elements in Bahrein in the middle of a sandstorm but it is much more comfortable and safe to sit on grandstands and support the drivers from there throughout the race weekends.

Pleasure

Rally-Kimi: 4 points

We could tell at the beginning that drawing a conclusion won’t be easy. Mainly because this category is here to decide between rally and F1. Well, in our opinion and especially in this case the rallying could get more points: the new tracks, the new challenges, the new oponents are bigger challenges for Kimi than he had stayed in F1. And for a sportsman a bigger challenge is the pleasure itself.

F1-Kimi: 3 points

Well, the decision was not that obvious because competing with the world’s fastest pilots with the world’s fastest cars can’t be named as a boring activity. Going flat out at the first incisive corner after the starting line at 300 km/h, to endure the G forces during 1,5 hours of racing, to reckon where to brake or where to overtake, these are certainly can raise one’s adrenaline level. We still think that rallying gives Räikkönen much more pleasure than F1 so with a big finish the rallying is the winner.

Source: Képes Sport

Courtesy: Kinga Planet-F1

Excerpt from Jäämies (Iceman) - Kimi Räikkönen Biography

From Jäämies - the Kimi Räikkönen biography (out in Finnish only), by Petri Nevalainen

Räikkönen didn't give in as a karting-driver and this is best described in a karting-event in 1999, including F1-driver Jarno Trulli. They had two separate classes; F1- and karting-drivers. Trulli wanted especially to come and drive with the karting-drivers because he had been a champion in Europe himself.

In the race for karting-drivers they had the European top attending so it was going to be a tough battle. Trulli drove well but Räikkönen drove better. Trulli was before Räikkönen in the start and Kimi tried to pass the Italian on the narrow inner track.

Räikkönen did pass him by force which led to Trulli hitting the wall. The F1-driver came to the paddock to complain about the treatment he got. Räikkönen said to Trulli that he himself wanted to come and race with racers.

- If you don't have the balls to drive then maybe you should got with the F1-men in the other class Räikkönen lashed back to Trulli.

Trulli told Turun Sanomat that 'I wasn't so happy after the crash'.

According to witnesses Trulli was shouting to Räikkönen so much that his face turned red from shouting.

Steve Robertson heard for the first time about Räikkönen through Peter Collins, ex- team manager in Lotus, who had heard about Räikkönen from Harald Huisman where Räikkönen crushed the records the first time he drove on his karting-track.

They held a test drive in Donington Park and Steve Robertson nearly dropped his phone when he saw Räikkönen coming sideways in a slide through a corner. He couldn't even say a word. And that's where it all started.

Source: Jäämies
Courtesy: Nicole @PF1

In Search of the Iceman By Lady Snowcat

Lady Snowcat recently spent some time in the freezing depths of Sweden to watch Kimi Räikkönen get his rally career off to a good start. Here, she tells us about what it's like supporting your man in such a chilly environment.
Have you ever stood in the dark, in a forest, far from home, very early in the morning, with frost forming on your hair because it’s minus 23°C, all for the sight of a guy driving a car exceptionally fast? If you have I’ll bet you will end up asking yourself if you are totally mad.

Of course the answer to that question is obvious. You are quite certainly off your head, albeit that there seem to be quite a few people infected with the same malady, as in this icy place you are most certainly not alone. There is a burbling under-current of discussion which, for once, does not allow my usual pastime of listening in, as English does not predominate.

With a number of small fires pocketing the dark gradually coming to life as the pink tinge of the sky then turns to a gentle blue, you can see more people picking their way through the soft, deep snow hiding the rather tricky terrain under foot. You only have to smile to begin a conversation in English and to get a welcome around one of the small fires. This happens just before your toes fall off with frost-bite and allows you to imagine taking your top layer of gloves off in order to get a photo as the Iceman hurries by.

Then you hear a growling in the distance and the thwack of helicopter blades and anticipation rises. All at once a car arrives - it’s Mikka; then another and it’s Seb; followed by Jari-Matte - each leaping over the ridge with a roar, squirming across the track as they brake for a corner and douse you in snow as they pass so, so close to you they take your breath with them as they go. Some more than others!

Once a certain cool Finn goes by it’s time to move on, perhaps to another stage, perhaps to the Service area, perhaps for a snack from one of the trestle tables set up with refreshments (no burger vans or even ice creams! in sight here).

The Service area in the middle of the very bleak Hagfors airfield doesn’t have the charm of the F1 paddock, with, of course, one exception. The exception is very important to my visit so all is okay with the world. When you aren’t amongst the trees, as on a stage, even a minor breeze freezes your bones. The cars are under rather flimsy canvas awnings with no sides and you have to feel sorry for the mechanics struggling to do enough work in 15, 30 or a generous 45 minutes, to make the gradually worn looking vehicles fit for another battering.

The tyres look like a Goth's dream with 384 studs in each. Being run over here would result in rather severe acupuncture so I resist throwing myself in front of anyone’s car!

Sweden is totally beautiful with its snow like very smooth icing on the great expanses of frozen lakes, pretty little houses, acres of trees and the blue sky to set it all off. And rally cars! You trip over them everywhere, including getting overtaken on the open road as they move from stage to stage. As they come past I am cricking my neck trying to establish if it’s number 8. Please let it be number 8.

It’s always clear when Kimi is expected as a crowd forms and from a distance it appears to boil with enthusiasm as some jump up and down and others brace themselves to take a snatched photo. He rarely leaves his car at the beginning or end of a stage but travels a short way along the road and, when out of sight or a distance from the fans, jumps out to remove his helmet and check the tyres. In fact a lot of drivers follow this process, particularly if, like Dani Sordo you need to prune the car of foliage and the stripped tape bordering the stages.

I could go on for hours but expect you are all bored by my enthusiasm. I do have to say that seeing them on the road from 5.30am to 8.40pm with only short breaks for service stops has given me a huge respect for the guys who do this. Also there is something rather real about rallying which makes the F1 crowd seem almost, but not quite, effete by comparison. Perhaps real men go rallying.

Source: sidepodcast.com
Courtesy: sleenS2S Planet-F1

Räikkönen sweared to the spectators walking on the road

Kimi Räikkönen cursed to the ill-behaved swedish spectators in Swedish rally test special stage.

Räikkönen admits that he heated up behind the wheel.

I am swearing there [in the car] if there are spectators on the road, like today they walked there two times, the Iceman told about his reaction to MTV3.


Räikkönen drove the shakedown through six times improving his time every time.

- Driving was little lost in the beginning. It took a couple of times for me to again get used to the car, Kimi commented.

The fastest driver on the test-SS, Sebastien Loeb, ran 6 seconds away from Räikkönen in the 4 kilometre long stage.

- I'm quite a lot of years behind the top-drivers in experience. Of course I develop all the time but it will take time before I'm fast enough, but that's just normal. People are expecting that I should be fast right away but I don't have that kind of expectations myself because I know that this is only in the initial stage and everything is new. Let's go step by step, Räikkönen told.

Räikkönen predicts that he will be left further from the top in Swedish Rally than in Rovaniemi in Arctic-rally, where he lost about 0,9 seconds per kilometer to Citroen's Daniel Sordo. Räikkönen is driving the Swedish rally's special stages in the coming weekend for the first time.

- Here it is more difficult than in Arctic-rally where I had one year experience. The fast stages seem difficult here. I'll try my best and let's see how it goes, Kimi said.

Getting experience of Citroen's WRC-car is the most important thing for Kimi at the moment.

- Experience makes the biggest difference, that can't be taught. I can improve more by driving than by doing changes to my car, Kimi said.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Leijona Planet-F1

ICEMAN = NICEMAN

Anette Latva-Piikkilä: Racegirl's blog

If Kimi hadn't slipped yesterday during SS2 he would have been 2nd in Arctic Rally.

It's nice to say 'if'. And Räikkönen also had a nice time. During maintenance breaks Kimi was circulating around his car like a falcon. He was very interested about what changes they made into the car and he spent a lot of time with his engineer's.

Kimi's engineer Cedric Mazenq praised Kimi a lot for his sensitive touch to his car and good feedback. They offered Kimi many different setups during this weekend so that he could choose the one he liked best.

The fact is that Kimi has now taken part in 5 rallies. He was about one second behind Sordo. It really wasn't a bad start for a WRC-driver. And because the car still wasn't like Kimi wanted it to be we can wait for his pace to improve. Kimi is therefore a driver who develops.

Here in Rovaniemi there are now many Kimi-fans. Kimi took his audience on the podium and got enormous applauds from his fans.

Will Iceman get a new name while the season goes on?

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole Planet-F1