Dad Sports » Raikkonen: Return of the Iceman

February 12, 2012 | ONLINE ONLY
Andrew Derlien

Long before Mark Webber’s solitary win in Brazil brought down the curtain on the 2011 season, it had become predictable enough to rekindle memories of Formula One’s dullest days. Just as his childhood idol Michael Schumacher had during the early 2000s, Sebastien Vettel took the sport by the throat, dominating the field with enough ease to take the shine off some of the greatest races in living memory.

Button’s last gasp victory in Canada; the Hockenheim duel between best of enemies Hamilton and Alonso; Webber’s manic climb through the field from eighteenth to third in China; all classics by any normal standards. But the fans were left craving a championship battle. Last year saw some superb racing on the track with plenty of overtaking and controversy, but the familiar ritual of going to bed on a Sunday night agonising over championship permutations just wasn’t there.

As the covers come off the 2012 machines and winter testing begins, we can only wait and hope for a battle to the wire this time around. But even if Vettel strolls into the distance once again, there is an intriguing sub-plot to the coming season which is sure to provide thrills and raise smiles in equal measure. Kimi Raikkonen, the enigmatic Finn known for his playboy lifestyle as much as his blistering on-track pace, will return to the sport after a two year absence.

Competing as a standalone team for the first time after a short partnership with Renault, the Lotus outfit have taken a gamble on the 32-year-old, who will have a lot to do if he is to avoid a similarly tame comeback to Schumacher. Will he feel the pressure though? Not the Iceman. Think back to the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, minutes away from re-starting after a rain delay- as Ferrari’s Felipe Massa sat anxiously in his car on the grid, screaming down the radio for a fresh helmet visor, where was team-mate Raikkonen? Calmly perched in the team motorhome of course, in shorts and flip-flops, tucking into an ice-cream. It was classic Kimi- nonchalant, unflappable, almost uninterested.

You can bet he’ll raise a few more smiles over the next twelve months, but Raikkonen is here to race. The talent was evident from the very start, finishing sixth on his 2001 debut, in only his twenty-fourth car race, and driving an uncompetitive Sauber (Raikkonen was fast asleep thirty minutes before the start, even more remarkably). A move to Mclaren in 2002 launched his career to the very top, and would have brought championships in 2003 and 2005 had it not been for poor reliability. Nine wins during this period were rendered fruitless by more than twenty mechanical failures, leaving the Finn runner-up twice despite some of the best drives seen in the modern era- his 2005 Japanese Grand Prix win, sealed with a glorious final lap overtake on the fastest part of the circuit, will always be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest moments.

2007 saw Raikkonen finally get his just desserts with the narrowest of championship victories. Chosen by Ferrari to replace the retiring Michael Schumacher, the Finn edged Hamilton and Alonso by a single point after a season of in-fighting between the two Mclaren new boys. Needless to say, having completed his lifelong dream to become champion after a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, Raikkonen simply completed his obligatory media interviews and walked briskly from the paddock to the car park, rucksack on back, his icy Scandinavian eyes lacking even a hint of emotion.

That kind of composure is one thing, but Lotus must ensure Raikkonen does not slip into the periods of de-motivation that have often held him back. Schumacher’s years of dominance came from his willingness to spend hours going over technical data with engineers and commitment to staying in top physical condition throughout each year. Raikkonen’s style has always been very different- turning up on a test day and pushing the car to its limits, of course, but staying around for extended debrief sessions? The infamous video clip of him falling from the top deck of a yacht at a private party, drunk as a wasp in spilt beer, did very little to curb the image of ambivalence that has become associated with Raikkonen. The two seasons with Ferrari that followed his 2007 triumph, which saw him beaten regularly by the lesser-rated Massa and a noticeably sharp decline in his effort, led to an anti-climatic exit from the sport- Raikkonen has a lot to prove this time out, and Lotus face the challenge of keeping the Finn motivated if he is to restore his reputation.

If Raikkonen does find enough passion within himself to put down the magnums, and the team manage to deliver a competitive car, Formula One could have an irresistible combination on its hands to rival the might of Red Bull and deliver a classic championship battle. Raikkonen has already shown promise, topping the timesheets on the first day of winter testing. First-season glory for the Iceman? Don’t rule it out for a second.

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