Imagine being a young gun in the world of racing. Then, imagine being the "top dog" in the world of racing. For Kimi Raikkonen, he has been able to realize both. Being a young man in the racing world is one thing. People don’t always take you seriously but when you reach the top of your game, you earn respect. Kimi Raikkonen not only earns respect but he also owns it.
Born in 1979, Kimi Raikkonen began racing karts at the young age of ten. His first real kart race occurred when he was fifteen. He finished the race by racing down the home stretch with the steering wheel in his hand waving it high. Kimi has a slew of memorable finishes including one where he actually lifted his kart back onto the track after being involved in a collision.
Peter Sauber signed Kimi Raikkonen in 2001 with his Formula One Team. That year, amongst mixed feelings (from the Peter Sauber camp) regarding Kimi’s experience, the driver chalked up one championship point in the Australian Grand Prix of 2001.
In 2002, Kimi Raikkonen joined another team and would remain there until 2006. Because of his apparent skill and ability to handle a race car, he was able to join the race team of Ron Dennis. It was the vacated seat of the former race car driver Mika Hakkinen that he was able to slide into for the racing jolt of a lifetime.
The racing wins and the records achieved in the Formula One Racing include various achievements and milestones for Kimi. In 2007, he is the highest paid driver in Formula One. He was the third Ferrari driver to win a world title in the first sign-on year with the team and he has tied the all-time great Michael Schumacher for the fastest ten race laps.
Kimi Raikkonen is a race driver’s race car driver. He is capable of maneuvering his cars to the finish line and he’s capable of being there first again and again.
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