In a country like mine, it’s easy to find people who love a sport; it’s not as easy but not difficult either to find people who are obsessed with a sport. In most cases, the sport in question would be cricket or tennis. But in very rare cases, it would be football or formula 1; and the number has been rising. Formula 1 for example is being followed on a much larger scale than it was a decade ago, when the following for the sport was pathetic - hardly anyone even knew what f1 was. Even today, when things have improved a lot, there are many who either don’t know what f1 is or others who don’t have a complete idea of what f1 is.
I started watching f1 in 1998, perhaps that was when star sports started giving a complete coverage of the sport because I can’t remember watching such coverage for the sport in the years before. I was 11 back then and if I could understand the sport then anyone can. I was fascinated by the sheer speed and beauty of the cars and my eyes fell on McLaren - it was the best looking car because of the paintwork (and it was winning). But then that was not where I stopped, I dragged out the history of the teams and drivers and everything I could find given that internet back then was rare and costly. Even after all of that, I liked McLaren over Ferrari and Williams and Mika Hakkinen over everyone else including Michael Schumacher despite the fact that Michael had 2 championships to mika's 0. That year Mika was champion but I didn’t get to see all races, I didn’t get to follow developments on a regular basis - newspapers never reported on f1 and internet was unavailable. Come 99 and things on the coverage front improved a bit and Mika was champion again...and 2000 was the year when things changed completely. The coverage was good and the newspapers also started reporting ok...I watched and watched as my hero battled it out with schumi and lost out due to lack of reliability and bad luck. But he was awesome in some races say Hungary - overtaking schumi off the line and in Spa where he produced one of the greatest overtaking moves of all time (awesome!! you have to watch it live to understand)..I still hoped a lot from him the next year. I started following things off season and car launches and all and finally when the season started in 2001, it was not the McLaren that caught my eye, it was a sauber...I still remember the first shot - a helicopter cam showing the sauber going towards the final complex of 2 right handers and Steve Slater (though I don’t care a damn of what he says) shouting into the microphone that the 21 year old driver didn’t have a super license and that he had graduated to f1 after only 21 single seater races ever!!! That immediately caught my attention and though I don’t exactly remember the time that he posted on his first ever f1 qualifying lap, I do remember that it was good enough to make me take notice of this guy forever. The Mclarens were not good enough. It was an ordinary performance from Mika but it was Kimi Raikkonen who had captured my attention. The next day he surprised me even more by bringing his sauber into the points, the first time I saw that team do so well, he finished sixth which was remarkable back then. It was amazing, first race and first points. Throughout the season, he continued to surprise me by finishing in the points whenever his car didn’t blow up and all of this in his first year itself. Mika on the other hand was struggling (for reasons I don’t understand even today) and disappointing me again and again except in Spain and USA but it was only because of Kimi that I was able to sustain myself to watch the entire races. By the end of 2001, a heartbreak and a good news were in store for me as Kimi came to McLaren and Mika retired from the sport. But I was not as disappointed as I should have been on Mika's retirement because in Kimi I saw every bit of him taking shape or even more.
I am obsessed with Kimi (as some people will also vouch for it). What I like in Kimi or why I like him I don’t know for sure but I can say I liked him from the beginning. The way he drove a sauber to the way he drove at McLaren. Seeing him drive his car was different to anything I had seen in the 3 years I’d seen f1. You could sense the aggression even when the camera shot was from the outside. Even a person watching f1 for the first time could differentiate this kid's style from the others, this was a guy who was pushing his car to the maximum - not his maximum, the car's maximum and that was what set him apart from everybody else. Kimi was too good, a talent that I had never seen before. Mika was a different kind of a driver. Kimi was unique to me (at that time) and I liked him from the word go. It was after liking him and after he moved to McLaren that I started a research on this guy and I liked him more after that. All through 2002, I rooted for the new kid on the block who had turned down Ferrari and chose my team (McLaren) and France was the race that I remember the most. It took me more than a day to let the disappointment sink in. Kimi had become within a lap of becoming the youngest driver to take a race win. But that was not all. Kim’s best drive (drive that had an everlasting effect on me) was in Belgium. He retired from the race with a technical issue but the way he drove in qualifying for the race was amazing. His laps were excellent and considering the circuit and the difficulty involved, along with an experience of less than 50 races ever, Kimi was amazing. And to top it all off, on his first ever qualifying lap in spa for McLaren, Kimi did something that people and columnists around the world will remember whenever they take his name, write columns on him, etc. Kimi drove flat out through eau rouge when it was filled with smoke from an engine failure. To treat a corner; that is considered the best, was considered the most dangerous, and is known for the gradient change; like that definitely shows his BALLS (**** off Mr. Hamilton). That cemented me to Kimi more than ever and I was determined to follow this guy and McLaren for as long as I could. Kimi finished only 6 or 7 races that year and every time he finished (except once) he was in the top 4. Agreed he was nothing in the championship but I took it as a transition year from a slow team to a classic high tech fast car (though it lost out to Ferrari). And never, never for a moment too did I think of supporting Michael Schumacher or Ferrari. He was nothing in my view. A guy who was benefitting from a good car, a reliable team mate and the absence of an experienced rival like Mika. Austria 2002 cemented my opinion on the man (who is nothing to me though he is considered the best - stats are truly misleading!!!)
If France 2002 and Belgium 2002 were a disappointment, then you have no idea what I was feeling by the end of the Japanese grand prix in 2003. It was disappointment of no measure and description. It was so bad that it was then that I realized how obsessed I was with Kimi and f1. Kimi had come within 2 points of becoming the youngest champion ever!! Also I had no idea that in the coming years, I would realize that this guy would have more bitter bad luck and that I could go on writing ‘what ifs’ for pages together. Yet 2003 was a year to cherish as the championship went till the last race courtesy the new points system and kimi’s consistency (and Michelin). Kimi took his first race win; was quick, consistent and mature. In short he really came good with my expectations and rewarded my trust in him. Yet he lost, by 2 puny points. He did everything he could and finished on the podium every time things went ok with the car. He outperformed superior drivers and machines in a car that was built on the 2002 chassis and was never changed during the season. He was the Man of 2003 fighting with a not-so-good car with the best guys and machinery (Ferrari and Williams being considerably faster than his old mclaren) in f1. But he lost – by 2 points. But little did I know that it would be the beginning of the fall.
2004 would be the year that McLaren managed to create the worst car ever in their history. It burned out while idling (waiting with its engine on) and Kimi was definitely in a very bad position. But that year I saw the man in Kimi. I saw positives both in the McLaren team and in Kimi. After being thoroughly raped by the media for their dreadful performances and all, McLaren came up with a new interim chassis by mid season that was competitive (if not the best) and the statement was clear. They were not going to stand and let themselves be raped. The indications could not have started in a more fitting manner. McLaren and Kimi took pole in Silverstone, the team’s home grand prix. And in a year so bad, that would have been a cherishable moment for the former world champions but for Kimi I am sure it wasn’t. You could see that he was a man on a mission that year. His focus and determination were very high and you could sense it when you saw him. 2004 was the year where Kimi was at his best (in terms of motivation). From the moment, the second car was introduced, Kimi was on fire. He was the best of the rest every time his car was able to finish a race and all he needed was a combination of circumstances to snatch a win. And he got them, in Belgium. It was a wet weekend and a tough track. No one would have expected a non-schumi victory given that only Ferrari and Renault had won races and that the treacherous conditions would mean only the best would win. Only Trulli had broken schumi’s winning streak. Apart from that single race in Monaco, Ferrari had won everything and it was not looking any different in Belgium either. Micheal Schumacher was the most successful driver on that track and Ferrari were unbeatable. Qualifying was as expected. The only man to win a race other than in a Ferrari was on pole. It was a very good lap from Trulli and Schumi was alongside. The man I am concerned about, Kimi was down in tenth. Then came Sunday. What a day it was. Kimi won the race. It was an all time display of speed and skill and in the end an inferior McLaren was able to beat a classic Ferrari. And you should have seen the podium celebrations and the post race press conference. Kimi was as if he had proved a point, as they (McLaren) had proved a point and what a joy it was to hear him say “I hope the reporter who challenged us keeps his word” (referring to a journalist who had said he’d run naked around Silverstone if McLaren won a race in 2004). That was the man and that was the drive that eventually led to a political war to get his services at Ferrari. 2004 ended as a year to forget for McLaren but they had not lost all, they had proved a point, Kimi has proved a point, he was not a man to mess with.
2005 was ultimate. McLaren were by far the fastest car given that their engine didn’t blow up and Kimi was the fastest driver on the grid. Still he wasn’t champion, he lost because of an unreliable and short tempered engine that let him down at crucial times denting his championship beyond repair. But he produced some remarkable drives. Notably Monza, Hungary, Monaco, Spain, Nurburgring, France, Britain, German and above all Japan (Details in another post). He was the driver who deserved the championship but he lost. It was disappointment and anger over fate that was far far greater than what I had in 2003. Kimi had lost again despite having the fastest car – because it was unreliable. Alonso had won the championship, not on merit but on pure luck.
2006 was again a bad year and for the first time since his debut, Kimi looked frustrated at mclaren to me. The car was nowhere close to Ferrari and Renault and much faster than the others. So no matter what Kimi did, he was the best of the rest. Maybe that turned him off. Even then he gave a few great drives of aggression and took the fight to Ferrari. McLaren didn’t win a single race that season but Kimi had done everything to make the car win, it was just that the car gave up on him on those occasions (China, Italy, Germany, Hungary etc).
And in 2007, Kimi went to Ferrari and I was left in doldrums. I hated Ferrari and I loved Kimi and I was left to choose between Kimi and McLaren. I did not know what to do. I wanted to support both Kimi and McLaren and that was how I was thinking when I sat before the TV in March 2007. And what a delight it was to see Kimi go 0.9 of a second faster than anybody else or Kimi to win his first race with Ferrari and also set the fastest lap. Kimi had prevailed and so had McLaren. But as the season progressed, I gave up on McLaren. Kimi was finally champion and he was a delight to watch. But this time, it was not because of his aggression. Kimi was different in red overalls and in the Ferrari. He never looked aggressive but mature and controlled, strategic and quick. But he was still the fastest overall and had more wins than the others. Kimi had changed. Was it for the good? I still don’t know. But Kimi had changed and McLaren had changed too and there was nothing I could do. I chose Kimi over McLaren and I have no regrets of not having a favorite team as long as Kimi is there on the grid.
2008 was bad, like some other years in the past but I still like Kimi. I still support him and I don’t want people to talk shit about him. Kimi still prevails over Fernando, Michael or the idiotic Lewis. He is still the best and definitely better than the others mentioned above. The thing that separates Kimi from the rest is his attitude. He never blames his team for a bad car; he never criticizes managements or goes public with this frustration. He never abuses his fellow drivers, never asks for favors. Never disrespects his team mate and always works for the team. No fuss – All performance. Everyone has their negatives, even Kimi has. But his positives outweigh his negatives. I don’t care what people think about him (even he doesn’t), I don’t care what they might say or comment but I will say this – There is only one Kimi and there will never be another Kimi, ever.
Kimi is fun, Kimi is fast, Kimi is strong, and he’s everything other champs are not!! Tell me a driver who has his fun and does what he wants but does not let that affect his on track performance. Tell me a driver who would go to any lengths to make sure he does what he wants and also not break his terms of employment – like dressing up as gorillas for a boat race or changing names to James hunt for a snow mobile race (and go on to beat seasoned professionals!!!)..That is Kimi…he is the best and he will be the best, no matter where he goes... be it f1, rally racing or whatever sport that has an engine that he likes…Kimi will be the best and he will beat the rest because he is the only ICEMAN!!
You'll find more and more kimi on this page but thats nothing compared to what he has given us, the fans of the Iceman!!!
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