This past Sunday marked both the last race of the 2021 Formula 1 season and Kimi Räikkönen's last race in the competition. The Finnish racing driver can pride himself on more than “just” a Formula 1 World Champion title, as he managed to be the driver with the most starts in F1.
25 photosKimi Räikkönen started 349 races in Formula 1, surpassing Fernando Alonso's 333, Rubens Barichello's 323, and Jenson Button's 306 races, which are tied with Michael Schumacher's record. Lewis Hamilton “only” has 288 starts to his name, with Sebastian Vettel closing in with 279 starts. But this article is not about who has the most starts, but about a heartwarming video made by Formula 1, which shows an animated history of Kimi Räikkönen's life and career. The short movie would not have been the same without Kimi's voice, which narrates everything from start to finish. The 42-year-old driver explained how he felt about various events throughout his career, which does shed some light on previously unexplained details. For example, Kimi revealed that his 2007 Formula 1 World Champion title did not make his life “happier,” but instead made it more “hectic.” While other drivers will eventually get more starts than Kimi, the Finn who is affectionately known as the Iceman is the only driver to gain wins in the V10, V8, and V6 turbo hybrid eras of Formula 1. That was achieved both due to his immense skill, but also because he started racing in Formula 1 two decades ago. Throughout his career, Kimi Räikkönen also raced in the WRC and even tried his hand at NASCAR. He was most successful in Formula 1, though. Kimi started with Sauber and managed to get the team's best result at the time during his debut year. The Finn replaced his mentor Mika Häkkinen at McLaren and then moved on to Ferrari, where he got his only Formula 1 World Champion title. Kimi's return to F1 happened with Lotus, and he then moved back to Ferrari until the end of the 2018 season. The Finn decided to make one last move to Alfa Romeo, which was the former Sauber team, before his retirement. It is all explained in the video below, and we think that Kimi provides some solid life lessons here.
Keyword: Kimi Räikkönen Narrates Animated Short Film About Life and Career, Watch It Here