TV-boss promises a special tracking of Räikkönen

Year after year Finland has had successful F1-drivers who have attracted people in front of the tv

After Kimi Räikkönen left F1 and moved over to WRC the interest in F1 went down substantially. Räikkönen's return to F1 is like a victory in lotto for MTV3, who owns the sport's tv-rights.

- After Finland's top years in F1 we faced poor years and the interest to F1 has gone down among the big audience. Now the expectation parameters and hopes for success are high again. It would be a tough thing in any sport if a sportsman this famous would make a comeback, Tatu Lehmuskallio, sport manager from MTV3, says.

- It's obvious that we expect the orders to grow above the curve that we are used to. Of course Kimi's comeback will have a positive influence, Lehmuskallio states.

- We have different kinds of arrangements with teams, unions and singular sportsmen. F1 is no exception in that matter. Let's see if we can come up with some special arrangement, and if it seems reasonable then we will go for it. In Kimi's case the main focus will still be on the racing itself.

Kimi's departure hurt

The TV-boss confesses that Räikkönen's departure from F1 hurt badly.

- It was a bit like if you would own the tv-rights to some European soccer game but then your own country wouldn't make it to the final tournament. It was hard because we always pay for the tv-rights according to the the expectation parameters.

- When Kimi left F1 we took a risk to see if the financial equation would work even if Kimi wouldn't drive. And it worked since the pay-tv -business has worked well despite of the lack of Finnish success.

URHEILUTIETO

Source: Iltalehti
Courtesy: Nicole

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LIKE A CHATTERBOX: Kimi Räikkönen is a prisoner of his own reputation

Distant, ice-cold and uninterested or funny, laid-back and social?

A little distant perhaps, but in no way ice-cold.

Definitely funny and talkative.

After several calls Kimi Räikkönen's persona starts taking shape.

We got an unusually truthful picture of Kimi Räikkönen in the latest DNA-commercial where a man wearing a hoodie makes fun of himself, smiles a lot - and talks only after the press conference is over.

He really talks like a pot full of beans.

- The media image isn't right in his case. He is in no way a quiet guy, Kimi's co-driver Kaj Lindström assures.

Calm

According to friends, Räikkönen is happy and laid-back but also deliberative. When he was younger there was maybe more fooling around, but these days the man is level-headed.

- In the group of friends others are noisier, but Kimi also babbles all the time and tells stories, Räikkönen's friend tells.

Does it sound like the Räikkönen in TV?

No it doesn't.

The reputation is formed through the stuff reporters create. After trasferring to rally, Kimi's media image has softened. Manager Steve Robertson reminds that Räikkönen has been himself all the time.

- I don't see that he would be any different in rally. In Formula One you reporters don't have access to places where you are allowed to go in rally. They have more time for you here. In F1 it is only a few questions or five minutes.

Two worlds

- There are two different worlds. Those who know him talk about a completely different Kimi than those who don't know him, Heikki Kulta from Turun sanomat says.

- You get a totally different picture of him through media, or you could say that you get several different pictures of him. He concentrates on racing and shuts off other things so fully that he seems ice-cold and distant, says Kikka Kuosmanen who took care of Kimi's arrangements from his junior-years until last year.

Räikkönen himself admits that you must be careful around reporters and other people around you.

- You usually see in what business each of them are there for. However, it hasn't never really concerned me. Of course there are things that don't go as they should but that happens to everyone. Someone can always make a crappy article if they want to, Räikkönen says to Iltalehti.

A shy boy from Espoo

Along the years Räikkönen has of course changed. In the background there is still the same young man who sensationally rised to Sauber's F1-driver 2001 after only one Formula Renault-season - and who is excited about nearly every sport and motorgadget.

- He has changed of course. He is no longer the shy fellow who ran away from reporters. He was loaded with pressure for his first F1-race. When he got a good result from it, he clearly let go more, Kulta says.

Anette Latva-Piikkilä, who used to race with Räikkönen and these days works as MTV3's rallyreporter, agrees with Kulta.

- When Kimi transferred to F1, he got a lot more confidence. The shy little boy was stepped aside and was replaced by a confident racing driver. Trasferring to rally in turn brought his true personality more to light. He is a funny and sociable man, and nearly always in a good mood, Latva-Piikkilä says.

- Time has left some marks. It hasn't changed the big picture. The sport has just changed a little, Räikkönen characterizes his growth.

JUSSI OJALA

Source: Iltalehti
Courtesy: Leijona