Kimi Raikkonen finally addressed the enormous fan love for him in F1, saying that he has never fully understood the reason.
Raikkonen will race his 349th and final race in F1 this week in Abu Dhabi. He has had a glittering career with a world title to boot, and will be remembered as an all-time great behind the wheel.
The 2007 World Champion made many fall in love with the sport. On the track, he is incredibly quick and is capable of extracting every last drop of performance from a car. Off the track, his dry humour and carefree attitude has endeared him even further.
As he retires, Raikkonen finally addressed the enormous fan love for him, and said that he is happy as long as he is remembered for who he is.
“I don’t know why (I am loved so much). Maybe because I don’t put on an act,” he said on Formula 1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
“You’ve got to ask the fans to come here and spend a lovely 45 minutes with you to discuss that. I don’t have an answer for that.”
Thank you, Kimi
The Finn was then asked how he would like to be remembered by viewers of the sport, to which he replied in the most humble way.
“However they wish, you know?” he said.
“I don’t want to put some kind of limits on how you remember. I mean, I don’t care much because, like I said, I luckily have been able to do most of the things how I wish to do it and whatever they remember – good way, or bad way, it’s a memory – and it’s fine for me.
“(F1 has) never been the main thing in my life and it might be different to many others, you know?
“My life outside has always been the most important thing for me and yes, it has taken most of the time in the last 20 years, but it hasn’t been the most, let’s say, important thing, in many ways.
“Yes, I enjoy racing and this, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it for so long. But I appreciate my own time much more. Like, it’s more important for me than anything else,” he concluded.
We wish the Iceman a happy retirement. Grande Kimi indeed!
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