Kimi-Mattias Räikkönen is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most underrated F1 drivers to ever grace the sport. While he did walk away with one world championship, 21 grand prix victories, and 105 podium finishes, Räikkönen was robbed of so many more. Racing for four different teams across his 22-year-long career, Räikkönen came agonizingly close to winning the sport’s top prize a number of times. If it were not for bad luck, poor reliability, and plain old driver error, Räikkönen would have three world championships instead of just the one.
At his peak, Räikkönen was regarded as one of the fastest drivers to ever grace the sport.
And with fastest laps and 18 pole positions to his name, there is plenty of evidence to back up their claims.
But his star has somewhat dwindled in the 19 years since he won his first and only world championship in 2007. Years of uncompetitive machinery and deliberate sabotage cough Ferrari cough have sullied his name. While he was in the title race after brief sabbatical in 2012, he was never close to actually winning the title. Despite all the good it has done for the sport – revitalising F1 and promoting it to a whole new demographic – Drive to Survive’s depiction of the great man has turned him into somewhat of a meme. While the many memes certainly are funny, newer F1 fans know him more for his humorous antics than his prowess as a racing driver.
While F1 is a sport dominated by statistics and numbers, where fractions of a second make all the difference, facts and figures don’t always tell the whole story. To truly understand just how formidable he was, we have to analyse Räikkönen’s career one unfortunate season at a time.
Räikkönen was tipped as being the next best thing in F1. Think Max Verstappen before Max Verstappen. After just 26 races in single-seater cars, Raikkonen was given the keys to his very first F1 car in 2001, partnering Nick Heidfeld at Sauber. While some questioned his lack of experience, the young gun proved his doubters wrong, finishing an astonishing 10th at season’s end. Keep in mind of course that points were only awarded to the top 6 finishers of race in that era. And after doing so four times and a Sauber no less, teams up and down the grid were vying for his services. One of those teams was Ferrari. Having won the last three Constructors’ championships, Ferrari were the team to meet during the early 2000s. Supplying engines to Sauber, Ferrari were aware of the Fin’s skill and offered him a seat for the 2002 season. But Räikkönen knew full well what partnering Michael Schumacher at Ferrari meant for a driver. Räikkönen, like any sane person, thought that teammates should race without discrimination, letting their driving do the talking. Had Räikkönen joined Ferrari during the peak of Räikkönen’s powers, he would have had to bend over backwards for Michael Schumacher and his needs. And considering what a dismal season it was for Rubens Barrichello, Räikkönen was right to turn Ferrari down.
Instead, he signed for McLaren in 2002, swapping seats with fellow countryman Mika Hakkinen. Ron Dennis’ ruthless, survival-of-the-fittest management style suited Räikkönen just nicely.
He finished 6th in 2002, capping off his debut season for McLaren with 24 points. Qualifying was clearly the Fin’s strong suit that year, with a consistent 5th place finish. Of the 17-races that season, Räikkönen bowed out of 10 of them, with mechanical failure and racing incidents hampering the young gun. But when his car did decide to work, he stood on the podium four times in his debut season.
2003 saw the winds of change sweep through F1. After four years of total dominance from Ferrari and the all-conquering Michael Schumacher, the powers that be were looking to spice things up a little. Taking home four constructors and four drivers titles in the early 2000s, fans had grown a little tired of Ferrari’s success.
The FIA, F1’s chief governing body, decided to shuffle a few things around ahead of the 2003 season. Rather than being awarded to only the top 6 finishers of a grand prix, points would now go to the top 8, giving more drivers a shot at the title. 1st place would go home with 10 points, 2nd 8, 3rd 6, and so on until 8th with one point.
The FIA opted for a radical new qualifying format this too, with drivers given just a single lap to set their grid position for race day.
This one-lap shootout style of qualifying favoured overall driving experience and punished even the smallest of mistakes.
To throw an even bigger spanner into the works, teams would also have to start Sunday’s race with the same tires and fuel they used in qualifying. This move put an even greater emphasis on strategy.
History tells us that Michael Schumacher won his record breaking sixth world championship by two lousy points. But unlike the season before, Schumacher had to dig deep, pulling out all the stops week in and week out. No driver posed more of threat than Kimi Räikkönen in 2003. But unfortunately, certain factors, both in and out of Räikkönen’s control, denied him his maiden title in 2003. Having researched this season extensively, I’ve found that uncompetitive machinery, poor qualifying performances and bad luck were to blame for his narrow defeat.
Räikkönen’s title campaign was over before it even started. While F1 drivers are generally the best in the world, they can’t do a whole lot without competitive machinery to back up their immense talent. You need a solid car to fight for wins and battle it out for championship glory. While he was touted as the next great talent in F1, but not even Räikkönen could go the distance without a decent car underneath him. And while his main title rivals in Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya were given just that, Räikkönen had to settle for hopelessly unreliable machinery the entire year.
After a ruthlessly consistent 2002 season from Ferrari, especially Michael Schumacher, McLaren were expecting much the same in 2003. It had been four long years since McLaren had last won a Drivers’ and Constructors’ campaign. And so, the Woking-based team went all out on their 2003 car, opting for radical new design. If anyone could beat Schumacher and the engineering might of Ferrari, it was going to be Räikkönen and McLaren. But as we will soon learn, this over preparedness was one of the many reasons why Räikkönen missed out on the championship in 2003.
Räikkönen hit the ground running in 2003, picking up a win in Malaysia and three podium finishes in the first four races of the season. This points haul saw him top the Drivers’ standings. But as Räikkönen said himself in a post-race interview, the season was far from over.
In those days, it wasn’t totally uncommon for teams to wait a few races before debuting their latest car. While Williams had their FW25 race ready in Melbourne, Ferrari and McLaren still hadn’t unveiled theirs.
Five races later in Spain, Ferrari would finally debut their F2003. Despite winning the last race in San Marino, pundits accused Schumacher and Ferrari of being complacent. While he was a little slow going in Australia, Malaysia, and Brazil, the reigning world champion silenced his detractors in Barcelona, bagging pole position, the fastest lap, and the race win.
Räikkönen wouldn’t be so lucky, however, as technical challenges with their 2003 car made it a little hard to build. Rather than rush the car out all at once, McLaren opted for a more measured approach. With reliability particularly important under the new regulations, McLaren had to make sure every component was in working order before finally sending it out on track. While he waited for his MP4-18 to be race ready, Räikkönen was a sitting duck in the championship.
Poor qualifying and a costly retirement in Spain did not help Räikkönen’s title hopes. After a run of consistent performances, Räikkönen’s podium streak was cut short in Barcelona.
He would bounce back in Austria, qualifying only half a second behind Schumacher in second place. Underpowered and ailing machinery would ultimately cost Räikkönen the win come race day. After a pitstop incident from Schumacher on lap 23 saw the Ferrari man lose 10 seconds, Räikkönen was left to inherit the race lead. Schumacher, in typical Schumacher fashion, would not go down without a fight, breaking the lap record 6 times chasing after Montoya and Räikkönen. An engine failure from the Williams gifted Schumacher second place. And with a much faster car at his disposal, Schumacher would pass Räikkönen for the lead not long after. Räikkönen’s McLaren would also suffer engine problems. But the Fin would nurse his ailing McLaren home in second place, picking up some crucial points in the championship.
But after three consecutive wins, Michael had closed to within four points of Räikkönen. Ferrari’s double podium finish in Austria put them one point clear of McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
With pressure mounting, McLaren needed to make some serious in roads with their 2003 challenger. But crashes in testing and a packed schedule of racing made working on the car a little tricky. As a result, McLaren would miss their initial deadline of May 21st. They moved that date to just before the Monaco Grand Prix, but they would end up missing that too.
In Monaco, Räikkönen would qualify in second place and finish there too.
The MP4-18 would miss that next race in Canada, with McLaren assuring fans it would be race ready for the British Grand Prix. Raikkonen would have to wait three more races before he finally got competitive machinery.
The MP4-18’s development would suffer another crushing blow in Barcelona where, during a private test, the car failed to make it a full race distance. While a spokesperson from McLaren assured expectant fans that it would be ready, they would have to wait a little longer before seeing it in action.
A mistake during his one lap qualifying attempt saw Räikkönen start at the back of the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix. While he did manage to finish sixth, it was not enough to stop Michael from picking up yet another win. This marked a turning point in the Drivers’ Championship, with Schumacher now leading by three points.
Even with subpar machinery, Räikkönen was still able to work wonders, picking up the first pole position of his career at the European Grand Prix in Germany. But engine failure on lap 26 would see him bow out from the lead. While it was the spare Schumacher who picked up the race win, Michael managed to finish 5th, picking up four points and extending his championship lead.
Despite reliability issues, Räikkönen managed to finish fourth in the French Grand Prix. In the dying stages of the race, his MP4-17 would suffer brake failure. David Coulthard, who had caught up to the back of his teammate’s car, was told to hold position in fifth. Ralf Schumacher would win for the second race in a row, with Michael joining him on the podium in third. The gap between the race leaders had now grown to eight points.
Räikkönen’s title chances would take another devasting blow, with McLaren missing their deadline once again. A voluntary test ban until August 24 meant that the MP4-18 would not be ready until the Italian Grand Prix in September, three races out from the season finale. Overcomplicating the car’s design to challenge Ferrari, Ron Dennis said the team had bitten off more than they could chew in term of development. After their peerless season of dominance in 2002, Dennis knew they would have to make a “quantum leap forward” if they wanted to match Ferrari. After their shaky start to the season, Dennis said McLaren “over-estimated just how far Ferrari would progress.” This overcompensation lead to an overheating engine and a car that failed its side impact tests on two occasions.
There were no two ways about it, Raikkonen would have to try and win the championship with a hopelessly outdated car.
In Monza, speed is everything. But with a comparatively underpowered car, all Räikkönen could manage come qualifying was fourth. A horsepower dependant track, drivers typically need a quick car if they have any hopes of conquering the classic circuit. And because of his pace deficit, Räikkönen would finish behind Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Rubens Barrichello. Räikkönen pulled out all the stops but wasn’t fast enough to overtake Barrichello on track. He kept things in perspective during his post-race press conference. While he was 7 points behind Michael Schumacher in the championship, there was still plenty of racing left to run. “You never know what will happen in the last two races,” he said. Räikkönen, having finished fourth, lost second place in the championship to Juan Pablo Montoya.
For only the second time that season, Räikkönen qualified in pole for the United States Grand Prix. Even with the odds firmly stacked against him, Räikkönen wasn’t going out without a fight. But his grit and raw pace weren’t enough to stop Schumacher who, despite qualifying seventh, climbed up through the field to finish 18 seconds ahead of his title rival.
Juan Pablo Montoya had a horrible weekend in Indianapolis. A poor getaway saw him tumble down the order from 4th to 7th at the start. Trying to recover his lost positions. Montoya darted down the inside of Barichello going to into turn one. The Williams would collide with the Ferrari and send it into the gravel trap. Montoya would end the day a lap down after serving his penalty.
Räikkönen retook second place in the championship but was still nine points behind Schumacher going into the season finale in Japan. While the title wasn’t out of the question just yet, Räikkönen would have to pray for a miracle.
But he would falter once again at Suzuka, qualifying in 8th place. While he did recover to 2nd, it was not enough to stop Schumacher from claiming his 6th Drivers’ title. Barrichello’s Ferrari in first was too quick for the McLaren driver to catch. After the race, Räikkönen kept things in perspective, saying he and the team just weren’t quick enough. “It is not nice to finish second, but at least I did not lose to a bad driver.”
