| Source: ts.fi | by Heikki Kulta | Translation courtesy of Nicole |

I have circulated the F1 paddock for a long time. On Sunday morning I met my all time youngest information source ever.

Kimi’s last testing day started with hardships. Lotus remained in the garage after only one test lap.

Since nothing happened I went there myself to find out why nothing happens.

I stepped inside Lotus team’s VIP premises where Kimi’s brother Rami Räikkönen sat in a table with his sons Justus and Tiitus. I met Kimi’s nephews for the first time on Saturday and we got along immediately.

I barely had time to say hello when the youngest Räikkönen – Tiitus, 6 years old, told this F1 reporter with his Lotus cap sideways that he can tell that the gearbox in Kimi’s car spit out all the oil on the ground and his driving stopped right there.

This is how you sometimes hear the news…

I rushed back to the media center and published the info before anyone else knew anything about it. Of course I stopped on the way to get a confirmation from a familiar Lotus engineer.

Kimi’s nephews got a lot of fans in the track area. For example the track officials were completely in awe when these small brothers walked with their dad around the track following the tests.

Tiitus took as many pictures he possibly could of the people on the paddock and the cars with the iPod he got from Uncle Kimi for Christmas. The brothers seemed to have fun and at the end of the day the whole gang took off with Kimi’s rental plane towards new adventures.

| Source: lotusf1team.com |

This feature contains some old and some recent quotes from Kimi’s mother and his brother Rami, still a nice read…

There are few more mysterious men in the Formula 1 paddock – or indeed the sporting world – than Kimi Räikkönen. So, just who is the Iceman? We spoke to some of his closest companions to dig a little deeper…

Iceman – the nickname given to Kimi Räikkönen by Ron Dennis at the beginning of the 2002 season – suits the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion perfectly.

The Finnish star is most likely the coolest guy in Formula 1… ever. There is nothing that really makes him upset, angry or happy for more than fifteen minutes or so. Kimi is quick to put everything behind him. The cool nature is innate.

Kimi’s mother Paula remembers him only once being very nervous and losing his cool outlook. He was six years old at the time.

Paula took her son for a regular check-up with their doctor and Kimi had to wait in the corner with toys to keep him occupied as mother and doctor talked. There were many toys, but suddenly Kimi became agitated, biting his finger nails and acting very nervously.

“The doctor started to think that Kimi perhaps had a concentration problem,” Paula explains, “but it was only a question of the toys!

“In those days Kimi was interested in jigsaw puzzles and felt that the jigsaw puzzle available in the surgery was too easy. He saw the puzzle for older children – for 10-15 years old – but could not reach it. The doctor’s assistant refused to give it to him and told him it was meant for older children, not for him.

“Finally Kimi got the more difficult jigsaw puzzle, put the pieces in place and smiled. The doctor was laughing; convinced now that this kid did not have any kind of problem with concentration,” Paula says with the pride of a parent in her voice.

Kimi learnt to drive around that age and – as with putting the pieces together in a jigsaw puzzle – so he started to become the master of putting pieces right in his racing, without losing his concentration in any circumstances.

Paula confirms that Kimi’s willpower has always been tremendously strong.

“He is always going his own way. Whatever you do, you cannot change his mind if he has decided something. As a small kid, if I wanted him to help me in some household chores – let’s say like taking a trash can out – if I saw he didn’t want to do it, i had to ask in an opposite way. I’d say to him: “Don’t you take the trash can out; I will do it myself.” Usually that way Kimi did it,” his mother recalls.

So when did his parents find out that their younger son had the talent to become a world-class motorsport star?

“The closest people – like parents – never see those kind of things themselves,” says Paula. “I think we noticed some promising signs for the first time when Kimi was about ten years old and started in the junior classes of go-karts in Finland. It was a father of one the competitors – who had a lot of experience as a mechanic for his own son – who started to ask; “who’s that boy in car number 104?” [which was Kimi].

“He said that with that attitude and that speed he would go far; and he was right” Paula smiles.

His mother also knows the strengths of her son.

“An absurd will to win every time and a never give-up attitude; that’s Kimi. From the time he started racing, he kept turning the steering wheel as long as the wheels kept rolling. I think it is that Finnish-style of tenacious fighting spirit we call ‘sisu’ in him.”

How surprised was Paula when Kimi decided to make a comeback to Formula 1?

“To be honest, I was amazed. Kimi never talks about his work with me if I don’t ask first, but I heard some rumours of his negotiations with Williams and I asked him about that. He answered that he would go to Lotus, because it was a better option for him.

“It was a surprise. His friends had been saying to me that Kimi was so tired and finished with Formula 1 and then suddenly he went back. I think it was very good for him to have his break as he seems to really be enjoying racing again” she emphasizes.

The closest people – relatives and friends – know a totally different Kimi Räikkönen compared to the one race fans see. He is far from lacking emotion, far from being blunt and tough. Quite to the contrary, he likes to help, he likes to be around, he likes to take care of his family.

Kimi’s brother Rami has two sons, Justus and Tiitus. Kimi is a godparent of the elder, Justus, and continually brings presents for both of them.

“The boys are in a way like I was with Kimi; competing with each other in every possible way. Kimi likes to keep them well equipped with all kind of racing stuff for kids. This Christmas he bought them tablets; or should I say Santa Claus brought tablets for them” Rami reveals.

But how close are the ever-competing Rami and Kimi nowadays?

“Kimi is my brother. I think it’s a very normal brother-to-brother relationship. We talk almost every week, we play ice hockey and do some other sports together. We both have our own work and that takes time; especially Kimi who works and travels a lot.”

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll be finding out more about what really makes the Iceman tick…

| Source: lotusf1team.com |

A repeat of a previous article… but I guess Lotus need some news to keep the fans occupied till China in two weeks time!

There are few more mysterious men in the Formula 1 paddock – or indeed the sporting world – than Kimi Räikkönen. So, just who is the Iceman? We spoke to some of his closest companions to dig a little deeper…

Toni Vilander has been a very close friend to Kimi since they started racing together as 10-year-olds and were also in the army together.

Toni won the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari in the GTE class and is a very experienced GT racer.

“As we race in different places we have not been seeing each other very often, but I think the friendship is forever” he says.

Toni is a father himself and Kimi is also the godparent of his son Luukas.

Was it any kind of a surprise to Toni to see his friend having such a consistent season after two years’ absence?

“I was more surprised about Kimi making a comeback than how he performed during last season” says Toni. “When he stopped, he was so fed up with Formula 1 and kept saying “never again”. I think it’s a good thing to have some distance away from everything and do something totally different, like rallying. That’s how your way of thinking changes and your approach gets stronger and stronger.

“Kimi is Kimi. It doesn’t matter how different the cars, the tyres or the rules are, it takes only a couple of laps and he is straight away within a second of the top guys. That’s what he did at the beginning of the Lotus era, too.”

Kimi’s image as a laid back person was seen even more during his first season as a Lotus F1 Team driver. His physio, Mark Arnall, has been working with Kimi since 2001 and asserts that the laid back image gives a false impression of how hard the Finnish star trains.

“When Kimi races he is not laid back. He fights and keeps fighting as long as the car is moving. That’s how he works in training as well. Since we started, he has always been like that. He gives 110% every time, whatever the programme.”

Kimi even ensures that his trainer stays in top condition. “He gave me the latest heart rate monitor from Finnish company Suunto for Christmas” says Mark.

One long-time trusted friend has a big input into how Kimi looks on track. Uffe Tägtström – one of the leading helmet designers in the racing world – has been designing Kimi’s helmets since his karting days.

The driver is very much involved in the design process too, so how artistic is Kimi?

“Artistic? I would not say he is very artistic, but he knows what he wants and he is very fashion-conscious. He is certainly of his generation” Uffe says.

Kimi has always been a trend setter in design style. “Sometimes it has been that whatever Kimi brings to his helmet design, it doesn’t take that much time to see the same idea in some way on somebody else’s helmet, too.”

Kimi saves all his helmets and remembers the season just by having a look at the helmet design.

“Usually Kimi gives a hint of what should be on his helmet for the season ahead” says Uffe. “I’ll then make five different versions of the idea on the computer and he picks what he likes the most.

“Last year he wanted to have his race number up there. He had the number previously during the McLaren times, but then it was at the back of the helmet. Now the number has changed from 9 to 7, but there isn’t that much of a change for 2013, just some new partners” Uffe explains.

At the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, Kimi showed his respect to a driver of the 1970s when he incorporated the James Hunt design and name on his helmet.

“The idea was there for many years, but with McLaren and Ferrari, there was no opportunity to use it. Last year it was perfect and the feedback was great too” Uffe praises.

Let’s wait and see what Monaco brings along this time…

| Source: dudesons.com |

Kimi’s racing suit on auction for charity, worn by Jarppi.

After this year’s Gumball 3000 adventure we stayed in Monaco a bit longer to watch the F1 GP race! After the race we had the honor to host a charity auction event on a yacht anchored on Monaco waters. The auctioned item in question was F1 champion Kimi Räikkönen’s racing overalls which he wore when winning the Australian GP earlier this year!

While Jukka and Jarppi hosted the event Jarppi acted as an example on how the overalls Fit even a Dudeson. In the end the suit was auctioned at the whopping price of 53 000 euros which goes to SOS Children’s Villages!

It was also nice to see how Kimi was in a good mood, even though Sergio Perez ruined his race in the Monaco GP a day earlier by crashing into Kimi’s car.

On Twitter:

@jukkadudeson Supporting our man #kimiraikkonen #gumball3000 family @lotus_f1team #Dudesons #duudsonit @jarppidudeson http://instagram.com/p/ZvC2DVlP7f/

| Source: iltasanomat.fi | mtv3.fi |

Kimi Räikkönen, who follows motocross MX1 and MX2 class world championship races in Finland, Hyvinkää, got to see that being an F1 star doesn’t always grant you special treatment. Räikkönen was following his own motocrossteam Ice1Racing’s performances.

Räikkönen, who arrived at the event around noon, was relaxed in the racing area. He had refreshments in the pit garage but also took the time to follow the actual race from the stand. At the same time Räikkönen got to see that being a F1 star doesn’t always grant special treatment.

When Räikkönen tried to get in the VIP premises he was sent away from the gate because he didn’t have the VIP pass hanging around his neck.

“Kimi didn’t have the pass, so I told him that he has no business to go inside. Here we look at the pass, not at the face,” said the doorman who turned back Räikkönen.

According to him Räikkönen wasn’t offended over it, he went back to get the required pass like a good boy.

“Kimi wasn’t offended by that. When he came back with the VIP pass I wished him a good race. I guess that Kimi also wants to be treated in the same way as others are treated,” the doorman speculated.

“But the other watchers who sat nearby got a bit offended and came to say to me “don’t you know who you didn’t let in”,” he laughed.

Räikkönen didn’t want to comment on his own F1 plans. Vacating Räikkönen only wanted to concentrate on the actual motocross event.

In Räikkönen’s entourage was among others his mother Paula, brother Rami and PR manager Riku Kuvaja.

The race in Hyvinkää was also popular among regular watchers. According to the organizers about 8000 people came to watch the race.

On Twitter:

@StefanEverts 11 Jul
Yesterday riding with some friends from Finland… 👍S72 pic.twitter.com/c6yUcuijRH

| Source: ice1racing.tumblr.com | iceoneracing facebook | xracing.fi | evertsandfriends.be |

[ Click here for full gallery ]

Sunday, July 21, 2013 – the Belgian National Day – saw the 8th edition of the ‘Everts & Friends Charity Race’, a unique motocross and cyclocross event for charity, take place on the circuit of Horensbergdam in Genk.

Kimi Räikkönen, former Formula 1 World Champion (2007) and  currently third in the F1 World Championship  standings, was the special guest at this years event. Räikkönen, who almost won the German F1 Grand Prix last weekend is excited to make the event but even more excited is Stefan Everts: “It is a unique opportunity for the spectators to meet Kimi in person. Moreover, he will be on a dirt bike and will join our ‘Cyclo MX Race’ and team up with a Belgian cyclo-cross rider. He will also join our signing session – this is truly unique and a first for our country.”  In preparation for ‘Everts & Friends’ event Räikkönen, who owns the Ice One Racing MX Team, had put in a few days of training in Finland with our ten times world champion.

On Twitter:

@KimiFanPage Kimi: ”In (my) childhood I loved motocross. It is my passion but I treat it only as a hobby.”

@KimiFanPage Kimi: ”Of course this sport is quite similar to the Formula 1 but motocross cannot be underestimated. This is one of the most complex…technical kinds of sports in which I tried my hand. It’s also one of the most interesting, but the contest was charitable in nature”.

@KimiFanPage Kimi: ”All the technical kinds of sports can be dangerous. But today I went calmly and tried not to do anything stupid.”

Videos:

( Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

| Source: autosport.com |

David Robertson, the man who helped get Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button in to Formula 1, has died. He was 70.

Working as a driver manager with his son Steve, Robertson proved to be astute in both finding young talent and sealing deals that got them quickly in to F1.

Having helped push Button up the junior ranks to secure his debut with Williams in 2000, Robertson was even more impressive a year later in convincing Sauber – and the FIA – to allow Raikkonen to race in F1 despite only having competed in Formula Renault previously.

Although Button would eventually move on to different management, Robertson continued to look after Raikkonen’s career.

As well as managing drivers, Robertson, along with Raikkonen, also helped set up the successful Formula 3 team Double R Racing,

Button himself expressed his sadness at the passing of Robertson, who had been ill for some time.

“Very sad to hear that David Robertson who helped me reach my dream of racing in Formula 1 has passed away,” wrote Button on Twitter. “My thoughts are with his family.”

The KRS community are very saddened to hear this news and we would like to give our sincere condolences to Steve and his family, and of course Kimi. David, not just a manager for Kimi’s early career, was a father-like figure in Kimi’s life and he will be sorely missed. We’ve always been very grateful for David and Steve recognising Kimi’s talent early on, supporting him away from Finland in the UK races and then bringing him into Formula One. Below are a few features we would like to share to remember David. R.I.P.

Video: David Robertson speaking after Kimi wins the 2007 F1 driver’s championship at Brazil (@ 3:04mins)

How to manage a champion – exclusive with David Robertson
Q: David, you’ve come a long way with Kimi. How does it feel for the both of you to have finally won the title and trophy?
David Robertson: Well, the words that I have to describe this feeling seem, to Steve and I, to be really inadequate. Sheer ecstasy is the feeling and we are still smiling now. When you think that despite two mechanical failures he still did it – winning the most races and scoring the most fastest laps. It was so close in 2003, when he would have been the youngest driver ever and then in 2005, after more failures than I care to remember, he was to be thwarted again. It began to make you think that it was never meant to be, so to finally do it, in such a dramatic fashion against all the odds, was just unbelievable. As everyone knows, with reliability, he would already be three times a world champion!

Q: Kimi has said that nothing will change – that he will always stay the same. Nevertheless, it must be different now that he is champion and he doesn’t have to prove he is of title-winning material…
DR: I am sure that he feels like he says because that is the way that he is. What he says to you is what he means – there are no sides to the lad. But if it were a normal person I’d agree with you that they would feel like they have had a huge monkey taken off of their back.

Q: How did you and Kimi meet? What was it that convinced you that he had what it would take to become a great?
DR: We met when he was brought to our attention through that well known petrol head Peter Collins. Peter told us all about this kid who was in an inferior kart to the rest but was always there in the frame and that in the wet he was amazing. Steve and I then brought him over to test and he was awesome to say the least – he literally looked like he could make the car talk. I know that it sounds corny, but that is the truth. To Steve, he reminded him of the drivers that he had driven against like Schumacher and Hakkinen and he had the best car control that he had ever seen. From the moment that I first met him we took to him completely, hook, line and sinker. As a person, we trusted him and, if you like, he became one of the family, as we literally love him. To me he was like another son and to Steve like a brother. When we address cards to him, we tell him that it is from his English family and you know I like to feel that that is the way that he thinks of us. That’s not to say that his real parents were not 100 percent behind him, because without them he would not be here. They are amazing people too. With them too, what you see is what you get, there are no sides to them – they are the salt of the earth. They sacrificed a lot to enable their son to do what he always wanted to do.

Q: Kimi hasn’t made a wrong move in his career to date – every team he has joined has moved him on. How much does he get involved in these decisions? Or does he trust you completely to make them?
DR: He has a lot of respect for what we think and we make the decisions together. Of course it goes without saying that it was the right thing to do to go to Ferrari, after all, that is the team that all the drivers on the grid want to go to at some point in their career.

Q: But with several key people leaving after Michael Schumacher’s retirement, joining Ferrari was a bit of a gamble. You must have believed that even with those uncertainties, Kimi would enjoy a better 2007 with the Italian team than if he had stayed at McLaren or headed to Renault…
DR: Yes, contrary to what other people thought, we thought that the team had more strength in depth than that. The one person that we thought was critical to the move was the man himself – Jean Todt. I have never known anyone that works as hard as he does. If he was not going to be there, then it would have been a different story. Like any great leader, though, I have found that his work ethic has been contagious and that all of the people that are there are the same and they follow their leader. The passion there is second to none. Trust me, there is no other single reason why Ferrari are the team that they are, than the passion that lies in their very core and spreads to every man that works in their factories. Italy is a very proud nation and they are behind their team and their drivers.

Q: A driver dubbed the ‘Iceman’ and a team that is known for its big emotions – how could that combination possibly work?
DR: You are right, Kimi is not one for wearing his heart on his sleeve and this was one of the things that attracted Ferrari to him. They thought that Kimi was different. After all, he was Kimi and not Michael. That, though, has not made any difference and the team are already very fond of him because he never moans, never makes excuses and just gets on with the job. He sometimes makes mistakes himself and therefore never sees fit to blame anyone in the team for their mistakes either. I once remember Ron (Dennis) said to Kimi, ‘hey, we are moving this guy from the race team as he is the one that caused the finger problem’. Kimi immediately said to him that he was not to touch any of his team, as they never did it deliberately and that everyone makes mistakes so please leave them alone. That is Kimi and that is why so many still love him at McLaren – and why they do now at Ferrari.

Q: Kimi is world champion and Ferrari the constructors’ champion, so everybody must be on cloud nine. Leaving the celebrations to one side, how was the year as a whole? When Kimi joined, some argued that with the team so focused on Schumacher, any successor would have a hard time…
DR: I think that as far as the press are concerned they run away with their own views and they are normally a long way from the truth. The fact is that of course Michael was important to Ferrari but so were so many other people, if you like they were the unsung heroes. Schumacher was a great driver, but Ferrari are a great team. Some people got carried away with the importance of a few individuals and forgot that it was the team, not that jack built, but that Jean Todt built and that Michael was a part of that team and not the sole reason as to why it did well. The team were unbelievable with Kimi when he started. They made every effort to make him feel at home and helped him through the difficulties that he had with the new tyres and his new crew.

Q: Looking back at that crucial race in Brazil, how was Kimi emotionally in those days. Did you speak to him about it?
DR: There is no doubt that, as you would expect, he was over the moon he had managed to pull it off. We were so proud of him during the post-race interviews. You could not have written it any better than the way that he handled it, it was word perfect. The good news is that with Kimi, you knew that he meant every word of it. That is why the team were so happy, because they are now aware of him and understand that he never just pays lip service – it was absolutely straight from the heart.

Q: McLaren’s appeal of the Brazilian result left the championship open for almost four weeks. How did he cope during that period?
DR: Well when you know Kimi, you know that he has this very unique philosophy and that is that he never worries about anything that he can not change and that is another of his great strengths. I remember reading a book about how to stop worrying and start living and I thought after I had known him for a very short time that he could have written that book himself. It just comes naturally to him.

Q: Kimi – and his alias James Hunt – occasionally enjoy some wild times. How much do you try to control that? Do you trust that as a professional he knows the limits?
DR: Once again, thanks to the press, things get quoted wrongly and then a lifestyle emerges that is, to say the least, a little way from the truth. The fact is, he is a young man and does like a party. But never, and I mean never, has he let it interfere with the job that he does. He, like the pro that he is, always makes sure that he is in good condition to deliver at testing and during race weekends. I have never had to go to him – we trust him totally. When he competed in that race over the winter on the snowmobiles, he used the alias of James Hunt to get rid of the press, but I’m sure that if he does that this year he will get mobbed.

When flight attendant Minttu Virtanen moved in with F1 star Kimi Räikkönen she had to adapt herself to the huge house and get used to the fact that in this cohabitation the moments together are rare and it requires a lot of planning. “I’m not leaving my job. It would feel weird to be totally dependent on someone.”

When flight attendant and a fitness model Minttu Virtanen, 27, was introduced to Kimi Räikkönen, 34, with a help of mutual friend last summer, the crush was immediate. It has been a fast-paced relationship; in November Minttu moved in with Kimi in Kaskisaari, Helsinki. The change of home was overwhelming and massive; Minttu lived in a 34m2 house before and in Kaskisaari there is +500m2. “In the beginning I was nervous about being alone in a big house. When I came home from work I checked every room that there is nobody there. I never thought that I would be the type of person who admires the scenery but I’ve noticed that how relaxing it’s just to sit and look at the sea”.

She has brought some new fresh little details to the decoration of the house but nothing massive. “The house was so beautifully decorated already and I’m not that keen on having a really decorated house. It doesn’t matter where I am as long as I have my loved ones close to me. With Kimi in this relationship I feel like I’m in the right place.”

The loneliness strikes when spending the night alone.

She had to get used to the big house as well as to the fact that the year is spent following the F1 calendar. Minttu gives credit to her employer FlyBe as they are really flexible what comes to his new life situation. “We follow and live with the F1 calendar and I try to arrange my timetables in a way that I could support Kimi as much as I can. At least for now the holiday requests have been taken with ease by my employer.”

With both of them going round the world all the time the long-distance relationship has become familiar quickly. The fact is that being together daily is not possible. They connect with each other a lot in the internet and with mobile phones. “In a long-distance relationship reciprocal understanding and trust are the most important things.” “When I’m working it’s easier to cope with it [not being with Kimi] when you have something else to think. But when I’m spending the nights alone at home the loneliness strikes and that makes me sad. At those moments I have to think about the future and comfort myself on the fact that this doesn’t continue like this forever. This is how it is now but one day it will change.”

Minttu admits that in less than a year a lot has happened but the routine life has stayed the same. “My life hasn’t turned upside down although there is some new and fun stuff. My life, job and friends are still here in Finland. I’m not going to give up my job or my independence just because of Kimi and his career taking him around the world. It would feel weird to be totally dependant on somebody, for me it’s important to do my own things.”

LIFE AND LIFE-LONG BAN FOR CANDY

“Own things” really are what Minttu is spending her time in. She has one career as a flight attendant but she also has another occupation, as a fitness model for Bealive. Sports are her passion and there could be a lot of opportunities for her in that category. Minttu has just started a personal training education and she’ll be a qualified personal trainer next fall. “I don’t know whether it could be my number one job but at least it would be something that I could do and go around the world. I also get some depth and education to my own training from it and I am going to design a training programme for Kimi too. He has already said that it’s OK.”

Minttu admits that his attitude towards racing drivers has changed through Kimi. “I understand them who say that driving a car around a track isn’t sport. I couldn’t belive that it’s so physically demanding before I saw the speed and the racing close-by. They need a great bodycontrol and fitness just to stay on the seat in those speeds let alone the blistering heat of some races. My understanding of the sport has changed totally and the I now have a huge respect towards the drivers.”

Minttu mostly enjoys the vigorous focus in her training. It’s something he often experience on the running track or in the gym where she follows a custom-made training programme. “I’ve never been on a diet or exercised just to look skinnier. I think it’s more healthier and eye-pleasing to have a muscular body.”

Kimi’s home in Switzerland has it’s own gym but in Helsinki the couple trains in a private gym close by the Kaskisaari home. “Exercising is self-evident and a intergral part of my life. It’s also essential for mental health. There are only a few things that give feeling like after training. If I don’t have the time to do sports it affects everything, I’m more tired, angry and I can’t eat that well.

What comes to the eating, Minttu has one weakness.

“We can’t have candy at home. I have no self-control over those!”

As a hostess in the home alone Minttu prepares quick meals like salads, chicken and vegetables. On those days when Kimi is at home, he cooks or they go out to eat sushi or a good-old stakes. “I like to keep the home organised and clean but I’m not a cook.”

LOVE FOR KIMI

They fell in love in summer 2013. Minttu has been seen on the paddock but otherwise the couple has lived off the headlines. “Kimi’s calmness made an impact on me. He has this wonderful habit of taking everybody in to account. His personality is full of beautiful characteristics.”

Being a superstar is something Minttu doesn’t noticed in Kimi’s presence. “The ordinariness of him is one of the things that made me fall in love with him. He is also funny as hell.”

(Source: menaiset.fi, translation courtesy of KRS Ville, english article)

In other news, our contributor Ville also reported that Finnish tabloid Seiska shamelessly spied on Kimi’s villa in Kaskisaari with a helicopter! All they noted was that there was a renovation going on on the patio and Kimi has a new car – a 200,000Euro Audi RS.

Kimi Raikkonen looks set to race into the world of fatherhood.

Currently vacationing on his yacht off the Mediterranean island of Corsica, photos have emerged of the Finn’s girlfriend Minttu appearing apparently pregnant.

And Minttu has added a photo of the couple to her Instagram account including the hashtags ‘babyonboard’ and ‘momanddadtobe’.

Raikkonen’s spokesman, Riku Kuvaja, is quoted by the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat: “Minttu and Kimi hope, above all, for peace from the media in this joyous time.”

[ Source: ts.fi | motorsport.com ]

| Source: minttuvirtanen.com | hs.fi |

Minttu’s official blog:

It is my pleasure to announce a new addition to my family. Our healthy baby boy was born last night in Switzerland, weighing 3,7 kg and height 51 cm. The proud new parents are also well and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

Congratulations to Kimi and Minttu! Baby Raikkonen was born on 27th January, just in time before daddy has to go back to work. We can’t wait to see the little snowflake!

Update on 01/02/2015

Our Baby Boy has made it home!

We have arrived safely home with our baby boy. It is difficult even to describe these feelings… happiness and love. The little man loves to smile, sleep and eat and mommy can’t stop staring at him. 5 day old Robin and the happy parents are overwhelmed by all the greetings from all of you so thank you so much! It means a lot.

It is Friday – the day off for Kimi Räikkönen during the preseason testing – but, however, the Finnish star of Ferrari arrives to the paddock of Montmelo. You can read from his face he is in sunny mood and you can see everything is fine with the oldest driver of Formula One with 35 years of age.

Räikkönen arrives to have an interview with Turun Sanomat and he visited his fellow countrymen at Koiranen GP factory close to the circuit to see brand new Formula 4 cars of theirs, as well.

Exactly at the agreed time Nicoletta Baffoni, who is one Ferrari media serving people, leads Räikkönen to the interview at Ferrari motorhome. Let’s get down to the business.

Räikkönen became of a father of son Robin at January 27th.

While making an interview with Kimi in the autumn in Belgium, I asked, how it felt for him to become a father soon. Kimi sighed, he believed it won’t make his world go upside down.

How is it now? Has his world gone upside down?

“Well, it is such a new thing, that I have not been able to assimilate it fully, yet. Buy it is the greatest thing, and I presume there will be a lot more items for big joy to come. Of course, obviously, everything is brand new, and I have not been able to spend too much time at home, while we have been testing and working at the factory.”

“The main thing is, the boy is healthy, and the mother is healthy. The baby is still such a little, but for me it is the finest thing in the world, and I am so happy everything has gone so well.”

How different does it feel to race, while you are now a man with a bigger family?

“Well, we have not been racing so far,” Raikkonen corrects with a broad smile, “But, for sure, it will change quite a lot.”

(Pictures via MinttuVirtanenOfficial and her blog)

While Kimi’s brother Rami got his first son, their father Matti Räikkönen brought a small GO Kart car to the hospital as a gift. Now there is not anymore grandpa Räikkönen bringing gifts.

“But there is already a mini-size crossbike to the boy. Antti Pyrhönen, the team of boss of our Motocross team, sent me a picture immediately, what kind of bike they have got for the boy,” smiled Raikkonen, who himself started his driving career witt small crossbikes.

Räikkönen owns a motocross team IceOne Husqvarna Factory Team and they started their season with a double win in MXGP class of the world championship series.

The sons of the Finnish racing drivers have become racing drivers, as well. It looks like Räikkönen is not able to avoid such a tradition to go on?

“I do not have anything against what the boy wants to do. He can decide that himself, what he likes the most. Obviously, we are not going to push him to any direction. I just hope, he would not end up here in the paddock – well, let him be in the paddock to see the race as time goes by, but not in the way, I would need to come back here myself to help him as racing driver.”

“The time will tell, what it will be for him. As long as he is happy, and is doing what he wants, it is the main thing for us,” Räikkönen says.

Räikkönen has a contract with Ferrari for this year and the team has an option for him for 2016. Have you ever been thinking, what you will do then, while Formula One is over for good for you?

“Most likely I will just be with the family. I do not have much more in my mind. Actually I have not been thinking of it, but I think, it is enough for me.”

Could you leave all the driving just like that at once?

“For sure, I can do that, I do not have any huge inch to carry on this for long. It is not my lfe. My life at home is just a normal life. I do this as my job, I like it a lot, but it is not such a thing, I could not leave behind me while I feel time is right.”

At Ferrari Räikkönen gets to the season with a remarkably better starting positions compared to the bad last year.

How about the atmosphere inside the team? Is it like you have with Lotus while you started there?

“For sure the things here at Ferrari are now much better compated to – let us say – last year. It makes things easier for all of us. What is better now, well, I would say it is the way how we do work together to the same direction.”

Is Sebastien Vettel the team mate you have liked the most during your career?

“For sure, he is the one that I get along ín the best way of them all. It is difficult to say more right now. We have not been working together too much so far, we have not been talking or sending sms too much. We have been together only a few days so far. While we start to go racing, it is different. But I can say, it is such a nice thing, he is here.”

How about after the first qualifying in Melbourne? Who ever is ahead of each other, does it affect to your mutual relationship?

“I do not believe that. Obviously, we try our very best to beat each other every time, but for us the main thing is to help the team up there, where it really belongs.”

“It is a strong fact I am rather in this team, although I would be second or tenth than to get higher position somewehere else. There will be the day to come, we will win again! I would not change to anywhere else.”

[ Source: ts.fi | Written by Heikki Kulta ]

Here is the first ‘public’ photograph of Kimi Raikkonen with his son Robin, which Minttu revealed via her blog today. Isn’t it adorable?! Robin is just over 2 months old now.

From minttuvirtanen.com

“We are getting used to this grey Finnish winter, which surprised us all after a few lovely spring days. I think it is great to be here except the weather could be better.  It is wonderful to see all the lovely people whom I miss so much when living abroad. 

Robin’s first flight went great! I was so excited that I could not sleep the night before at all. He was smiling all the time before he fell asleep in his daddy’s arms.” – Minttu.

“Daddy you so cool!”

Filed under: Family & Friends, Kimi Räikkönen, Off-track

King Informal Maverick Iceman

Fool April is a Finnish band who have made a dedication to Kimi Raikkonen and wanted to share it with us. Fool April were formed in 2010 by vocalist/guitarist Petteri Martinsuo and drummer Jussi Peltonen. Good luck to these guys! It’s a pretty cool song! Check it out below.

It’s not the first time Kimi has been associated with musicians paying tribute to his legendary iceness; he is even good friends with Axl Rose of Guns’n’Roses, who included the Iceman in the ‘thanking list’ of their album Chinese Democracy. Keyboard player Chris Pitman, pictured below, is also clearly a big fan of Raikkonen as he performed wearing the F1 world champion’s 2007 helmet; the band also pictured Kimi’s McLaren on screen while playing ‘You Could Be Mine’. Little Kimi fact of the day: the first record Kimi bought was indeed a Guns’n’Roses cassette.

Sources: ferrari.com | yle.fi

The Finnish government has never before appointed anyone as an Ambassador for Sport, but it did so at a Sport Gala, held in Helsinki on Tuesday 17 January.

The recipient was none other than Kimi Raikkonen, who received the honour from Prime Minister Juha Sipila. Kimi’s presence at the gala had been kept secret right up until the last moment.

Kimi Raikkonen: “I’m not that used to making formal speeches. But I would like to wish all the best to the winners in every category, as well as those who missed out on the prizes this year. I would stress how important it has been in my case to have the support of my family and help from trustworthy colleagues and the people within the Ferrari Team, with whom I have worked for so many years now.”

In 2017, Finland celebrates the centenary of its independence.

Translation: “I want to congratulate all who got awarded today and all who didn’t. This is a great honour to get awarded. For whole my career I’ve had the pleasure of working with good people and good teams. Right now I’m working in one of the world’s best companies (Ferrari) and teams. The biggest thing for me (in my life) has been the ability to do all the thing my way. Sometimes there have been some mishaps. But all and all I’ve believed in my own thing and did just that. You don’t always have to do things like your neighbour does them. Sometimes doing things your own way gets you success.”