So long Kimi, thanks for the ride!
With the announcement made, I thought it only fitting that we have a thread as a tribute to Kimi.
Before Kimi even had the seat in the Sauber car at the start of his career, he had hurdles in getting his super license. For the sole reason that he didn't have enough races under his belt, with only 23 races in his lower series career. Somehow Peter Sauber convinced Max Mosley to grant the license, and within months it became clear it was the right decision. From the word go Kimi was the hit of the 2001 season as far as newcomers were concerned, and made a big impression.
While at Mclaren, Kimi battled with some of the greats in the sport, and often came out on top. Though it never amounted to a title, both past and future champs always knew he was in the hunt when the car was right. Schumacher, Alonso already had titles in hand, and soon to come would be Hamilton, Vettel, Button, and Rosberg. At some point Kimi got to battle with them all, and often left an impression.
It finally came together for him in 2007 when he moved to Ferrari. With four drivers in contention to become the WDC, it wasn't an easy title. And towards the end of the year when the others made some critical mistakes, Kimi finally emerged on top. I would say Fuji was the race that really made it come together for him, driving to 3rd after being back at 20th after Ferrari rolled the dice and tried to start their drivers on intermediates. Forced to pit early by order of race control, he made his way through a rain soaked field to make it back to the podium with a fellow Finn.
Upon exiting F1, he raced in both WRC and NASCAR. Though not a direction many drivers would take, it's obvious he loved to race. And then he did what we all thought couldn't happen... he came back to F1.
Though he did well with Renault, the second impossible task... a move back to Ferrari, didn't go very well. But at that point he was also racing against a recent 4 time WDC, and it's not as if there wasn't plenty of solid drivers in the field. With the final move to Alpha Romeo, it was pretty much certain that his competitive career was over. But here and there he still managed to catch our attention with some brilliant first laps, overtaking moves, and world class defending.
Though he doesn't have the WDC's of some, he still managed to be only one of a few drivers to top 100 podiums in F1, and has been the only driver to have wins in the V10, V8, and current V6 hybrid era cars. And looking back, I think Kimi might have enjoyed being himself, and that ice cream might have tasted just as good as another title.
Interviews, radio calls, biting his tongue? Forget it... Kimi was always Kimi. The antics out of the car were just as good as the stuff in the car. Gorilla suits, a detour for ice cream during a red flag, a trip straight to the yacht after a DNF? Pure Kimi at his best. He's probably one of the most laid back drivers to ever win a race, much less a title.
I'm not sure how the rest of the viewing world will remember Kimi, but I'll miss him in the sport. One of a kind.
