RÄIKKÖNEN ON LIFE AT ALFA ROMEO
AT ALFA ROMEO
The trappings of F1 have always sat uneasily with Kimi Räikkönen, who would rather tinker with motocross bikes and play with his kids than participate in its corporate circus. Leaving Ferrari affords Kimi more freedom, allowing F1 Racing to catch up with a chattier, and relaxed, no less determined character – who it turns out is also a dab-hand at fixing toilets…
SCHOOL TRIPS NEVER USED TO BE LIKE THIS.
There was always a long, bumpy coach ride to a working museum, where a cottage made from wattle and daub was the highlight. If you were lucky, you got to play with some tools in a workshop. But for this group of French children, they are experiencing the best school trip money can’t buy.
At this very moment, Thursday afternoon of the French Grand Prix, when they should actually be in a stuffy classroom learning about the nitrogen cycle, they are at the door of the Alfa Romeo motorhome, getting Kimi Räikkönen’s autograph. The time he is taking to sign every t-shirt, notepad and cap is eating into the tightly scheduled interview slot with F1 Racing. For every scrawl, he is avoiding questioning. But, as Kimi is finding, you can’t fairly give six kids a signature and deny the out-stretched arms of another two dozen.
In the past, Kimi has been known to actively bowl frenzied fans out of the way desperate for a dreaded selfie, or squiggle of ink. But for these juniors attending a local school in the Provence-alpes-côte d’azur region, this has been the highlight of an initiative organised each year by the Circuit Paul Ricard. Kimi, too, is clearly less impatient and more au fait with the pleas of children.
As the students melt away, Räikkönen enters the Alfa Romeo motorhome and we ascend the stairs to the top floor. This hospitality structure was originally purchased in the days when BMW owned the Hinwil-based team and it has stood the test of time – much like Kimi himself. Nineteen years have passed since he last raced for this team – in its guise as Sauber – and today, the winner of 21 grands prix and the last driver to win a world drivers’ championship for Ferrari is a married father-of-two. And at 39, he’s the oldest competitor on the grid.
After remarking on the sight of him signing autographs for the schoolkids, it naturally led to an enquiry about his own progeny: Robin, 4, and Rianna, 2.
“Yeah, good. Same, same. Not much different. Healthy, which is the main thing. They are happy, so…”
Anyone who follows Kimi on social media will be aware that most of his posts are of his children on a variety of wheels: bicycles, quad bikes, scooters – going around obstacles on a makeshift course.
“Robin’s generally at slow speed, but getting faster on a bicycle,” he says. “After the first crash he’ll probably slow down a bit. Rianna uses electric quad bikes. I think she is the more wild one out of the pair. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to try go-karting. She’s more fearless, but then, it’s true that when they get a little bit older, then they start understanding that certain things might hurt – then they calm down.”
Räikkönen Sr himself shows no sign of slowing down, six months into his two-year deal with Alfa Romeo. In pre-season testing, when the new Alfa first appeared on track, both Räikkönen and senior team members were quietly confident the team had stolen a march on its midfield rivals with a differing aero philosophy, based around an unusual front wing design. The first few grands prix of the year were also promising: two top-ten starts and points for Räikkönen in the first four rounds. But since then progress has stalled…
“We started OK, but the last few races have been quite bad,” concedes the Finn. “What can you do? You can only try to improve. We know what the issues are but we need some time to fix them. We’ve found that some circuits suit us more than others. There’s no major things, just small details, here and there.”
While Austria showed a welcome return to form, with both cars in the points for the first time in 2019 and despite new ownership and increased investment from Alfa’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the team at Hinwil is still relatively small. It is, therefore, more susceptible to swinging fortunes due to the very tightly grouped midfield and the more resourceful teams it is competing with, such as Mclaren and Renault.
“We have brought new stuff over the races and the others have improved
more,” says Räikkönen. “We need a bit more downforce on the car and some other things. But I believe we will be back in a position to fight and be more competitive. It’s the never-ending story to improve cars and make them faster.
“Anything you do with the car or to make new things it always takes some time. We can’t produce things overnight and as a smaller team it takes a bit longer than a big team with more research. Results haven’t been great in a few races, but other than that, things are OK.”
Donning red and white Alfa team gear and at the opposite end of the grid from the pressure-cooker environment of Ferrari, Räikkönen looks relaxed, reminiscent of his time at Lotus in 2012 and ’13. At Hinwil, like at Enstone back in the day, the mindset is focused on racing above all the extraneous activities that surround F1. There are fewer demands on his time and, crucially, he can be himself.
“The team is quite a bit bigger than when I was first here,” Raikkonen says. “It was an even smaller team then, compared to what it is now. There is a nice group of people and I live close by [to the factory in Hinwil], about 30 minutes away, 45 minutes depending on traffic, so it’s very easy in that way. Also, there is a bit less to do outside of racing.”
There remain a few personnel who were at the team when Räikkönen was first here. They include his former trainer Josef Leberer, who helped coach Kimi to make the transition from Formula Renault straight into F1 at the start of 2000, when he was just 20 years old. During his time in Formula 1, only Mark Arnall and Leberer have worked as Kimi’s trainer.
“You’ve got this guy who you just cannot change, he is what he is,” Leberer once told F1 Racing. “Not many people are still here as long as he is. They come into the system and have to do what the system tells them otherwise they are gone. Kimi says, ‘I don’t do that, not me.’ And this is what a lot of people admire, because he lives his life and does not care what others are doing.”
When Räikkönen’s biography went on sale last summer, it featured indepth interviews with the Finn, at his home and away from the racetrack and revealed some hitherto untold stories about the legendary Iceman. One anecdote centred on a bus that was transporting some Ferrari mechanics to and from a hotel in some far-off land. The toilet on the coach had broken, and with the minimum of fuss Kimi immediately appeared with some spanners and a screwdriver to repair the fault – to the amazement of his fellow passengers. So, it begs the question, can he fix anything?
“Certain things, not all, unfortunately,” he smiles. “Over the years I’ve learnted to do a lot and I’m quite adept at figuring things out and working with my hands. When I first got my driving licence, cars were a lot more simple, you could change engines and fix anything.
“These days, I wouldn’t put my fingers into a car – forget it. I’d ask my brother to look at it or a dealer. In many ways it’s a shame. Bikes are still simple and motocross bikes, you can deal with them yourself.”
In one of the pre-season tests at Barcelona, pictures emerged (which were then posted on his Instagram account) of Kimi fiddling with his seat at the back of the garage. Just another example of his DIY work ethic?
“Actually, over the years I would very often do the work on the seat myself because it’s the easiest thing. I know what I want. It’s very difficult to tell the mechanic exactly. Yes, I can draw it with a pen, but then I would have to go and have a look – and it’s a feeling, it’s difficult to describe and it’s hard for them to do it exactly as I like it.
“In many ways it’s a much shorter lead time when you do it yourself,” he adds. “Plus if I f*** it up – then it’s my fault!” At which point he bursts into hearty guffaws.
Perhaps then, nothing has really changed. As Leberer points out, Kimi has always done his own thing.
While it is another 18 months before his current racing contract comes to an end, surely the perennial passion for competing might steer Kimi in a
“When I stop it’s enough. Enough. If my son starts racing… well… then I will help as much as I can, but for me I’ll stay in motocross, it’s more relaxed”
new direction? Could management be on the cards one day? He’s had part-ownership in the junior single-seater racing team Double R Racing (named after himself and former managers Steve and David Robertson) and competed in the World Rally Championship under the Ice1 Racing outfit.
Kimi interrupts: “No, it wasn’t like that in my rally days. People thought that I had my own cars and team. Absolutely wrong. I hired the cars and it was under my name, but only for me to fly in there. And Double R, ‘Boyo’ [Anthony Hieatt] runs it and is still doing it. I never had the time.
“The only thing I have is my motocross team and that’s enough for me [Ice1 Racing fields three riders in the FIM Motocross World Championship]. After F1, when I stop it’s enough. Enough. If my son starts racing… well… then I will help as much as I can, but for me, I’ll stay in motocross, it’s more relaxed.”
If his progeny do speed up and don’t fall off two wheels, then you can easily picture Kimi as their motocross bike mechanic in the years to come, tinkering at the suspension, tweaking the set-up here and there, getting his hands dirty – doing exactly what he wants to do…