Kimi Raikkonen: “The team is close to my heart, but the only reason I came is because I believe I can do a good job”. Alfa Romeo Racing Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen interview for Autosport.

Moving from front running Ferrari to a midfield team at the age of 39 is unusual for a driver with such a hugely successful track record as Kimi Raikkonen‘s. Put that to the man himself, and he doesn’t initially bite:

“I don’t follow what other people do,” – is the typically Kimi response. But he bullds on that by pointingout that his genuine desire to keep going, even in an Alfa Romeo team that’s likely tobe further down the grid, is at the heart of his bulletproof popularity with the F1 fanbase. You can tell he appreciates the fact that people get what he’s about: “Hopefully not lower down (the grid)” – he says – “Obviously that’s what we expect in the beginning but the aim is to try to go forward. At least the reasons are right for me. For the rest, I don’t care if it’s right for somebody else — it’s not really any interest of mine. I would not sign a contract if I didn’t think it was something that I will enjoy and want. Formula 1 is a small part of my life but it takes over your time. In the end it’s sport: if you do well, great; if you do bad, then it’s not the end of your life. But I’m here because I enjoy racing. It’s a different challenge with a team that wants to get better and bigger, and hopefully I have something to give them.”

What the printed word doesn’t convey is how relaxed Kimi appears to be in his new surroundings. While he’s talking on a’day off’ during testing, as Alfa Romeo teammate Antonio Giovinazzi puts in the mileage, it was a similar story at the track on days when he was pounding round. At Ferrari, it was difficult to spot anything other than the worst of Kind — diffident, staccato answers that kept most of him shrouded. But, in his new environment, his character can shine through a little more. He’s never going tobe an ebullient, perma-grinned Daniel Ricciardo type, but he’s clearly able to be more hirnself in this team.
It’s the first time we’ve seen Raikkonen in a smaller operation since his first seasonwith what was then called Sauber in 2001. Stints at McLaren, Ferrari,’Enstone’ Lotus and Ferrari again — along with a two-year absence while he took on the World Rally Championship – have always cast him as one of the aces. Now he’s a big name in a team in the tight midfield pack, returning to the squad that gave him his unlikely bigbreak fresh out of Formula Renault UK in 2001 at a time when an influx of resources and a manufacturer facelift mean it’s firmly onan upward curve.

Ferrari and Alfa Romeo may be closely linked, but they are dramatically different teams. Kimi Raikkonen has moved from an Italian operation employing not far off 1000 people to a Swiss one — one he can cycle to from home — with around 400 personnel and one third of the budget. His job hasn’t really changed — it’s still about driving the car as quicldy as possible, interacting with engineers, attending sponsor events and the countless other demands. But the team culture is different and, spared the unique stresses and politics of Ferrari, he’s clearly more at home.

“The team is different, but in the end the work is not really different because everyone is trying to achieve the same end results in slightly different ways,” – he says. – “We have less people, so there are differences. I’ve been in teams that are in different countries. Obviously there’s a difference — different countries have different ways, how they deal with each other. That’s probably the biggest difference. If you go from English team to English team, it’s similar. It’s also the people. That’s something where you see where you area bit behind because you don’t have that many people doing certain things. So ‘guess that’s a bit different, but it’s also interesting.”

The idea of Kimi Raikkonen joining Sauber a few years ago would have seemed fanciful. The team was teetering on the edge of oblivion prior to being bought by Longbow Finance in 2016, and even after that nearly lost all’Column 2’ prize money when it was almost beaten by Manor in the constructors’championship. While Kimi is eager to keep racing, the quality of the team is part of the appea. Going into a stagnant midfield operation is one thing, going into an upwardly mobile one that is growing and was in a position to win races just a decade ago is something different.

‘A couple of years ago, it was almost the end of the story for Sauber so it’s nice to see that it’s got much better and they’ve improved much of what they’ve done,” says Raikkonen of the attraction of his move to Alfa Romeo.”Now they have strong backing and they have something to build on because they don’t have to worry about tomorrow, they can pay the bills. I’ve been in teams like this — it’s unfortunate that it doesn’t work, that there’s no future. It’s good everybody’s happy because it’s a new life for them and they have a good chance to do well. Everyone’s gone through a pretty hard time in three years. That I started here is obviously not the reason that I came here, but it’s a nice side story. Of course, the team is close to my heart, but the only reason that I came is because I believe I can do a good job here.” – Kimi concluded.