Kimi swaps roaring cockpit for fire truck
SENAWANG: Kimi Raikkonen switched from the roaring engine of the F1 car to the blaring siren of a fire truck in a unique Shell V- Power job swap ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Through the job swap, Kimi who is known as ‘ The Ice Man’, had the unique opportunity to become a fireman for a day and was assisted by Mohd Uzair Abdullah, a veteran with Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department.
Warming up for the race in Sepang this weekend, the F1 Ace took the wheel of an 18-tonne fire truck at a specially constructed track in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, yesterday.
“The fire truck is such a different vehicle to my Ferrari car, and it was a new experience,” said Kimi on the job swap which included manoeuvring the 8.5-metre fire truck around a custom- built obstacle course, a target practice with the fire hose, and finishing with placing the fire ladder.
“I take my hat off to fire-fighting experts like Uzair whose job is to protect us all. Today, I learnt that protection and performance are important in both of our worlds,” he said.
Meanwhile, all the participants and the media were given the opportunity to go for ‘ Hot Laps’ with Marc Gene (professional F1 test driver).
Shell Retail Malaysia/ Brunei general manager Shairan Huzani Husain said Shell was committed to motorsports as an integral part of its R& D programme.
“Our innovations developed for the track help us make better fuels for our customers, enabling them to perform on the road with engines protected by Shell VPower,” he said.
Kimi and veteran fire- fighter Uzair were brought together in this job swap by Shell, whose innovation partnership with Scuderia Ferrari has reached over 60 years. — Bernama