The story of my hero: New kid on the block
It took 40 for Felipe Massa, 51 for Michael Schumacher and 130 for Lewis Hamilton. Wondering what the numbers are about? It's the number of international races each participated in a single-seater racing car before making their debut at the pinnacle of world motorsport: Formula One. An F1 pilot, on an average participates in 40-50 races before getting a chance at F1. However there are special talents, whom you just have to put in the car and watch them rule the beast! One of them and my favorite is my hero: Kimi Matias Raikkonen. Hailing from Espoo and having just participated in 23 races, the Finn made one of the most dramatic entries into F1 when Peter Sauber put him in the PETRONAS C20 for the 2001 F1 season. His inexperience was considered a threat to other drivers and many protested his participation including a number of drivers. Nevertheless, he was given a super license and allowed to compete at the highest level. Amidst all this commotion, guess what the 'Iceman' did before his debut race???
He slept for a couple o' hours!! That’s how cool this man is. His motto is simple. ''Give me a car and I'll show you what it can do.''
March 4, 2001 saw two extraordinary drivers make their F1 debut at the Albert Park Circuit -- Ice cool Kimi in Sauber and the all aggressive Alonso in the Minardi. Both these drivers are fantastic in their own way. While Alonso uses every part of the tarmac to shrink his times, Kimi knows how to muscle the car through the sectors with ease. Kimi suppressed all his critics after the race when he finished 6th and scored a point for his team on his debut. As the season progressed, the big guns started noticing Kimi and there was already a competition between McLaren and Ferrari to sign him for 2002. Ferrari being the then engine supplier for Sauber was rumored to be his probable destination. He however ended up at The Woking replacing the Flying Finn Mika Hakkinen and proved to be a tough nut to crack ever since!
Kimi had an average year in 2002 when his McLaren had a myriad of problems with reliability. He was always fast but his luck was such that 38% of his races he drove for McLaren ended due to the machine's instability in some way or the other. By the end of 2002, Kimi's potential was clear to everyone.
An F1 car comes to a halt from 100kph without its brakes at a faster pace than a sports car with its ceramic discs! Such is the grip on those nitrogen filled tires. The best thing about Kimi is that, he is the only F1 pilot who can actually DRIFT an F1 car!! Such is his car control and there's ample to proof of it, like the 2002 Austrian GP, the 2003 European GP qualifying, 2005 Monaco GP Hot lap or the 2008 Singapore GP practice and many many more!
2003 is the year when Kimi got his first real shot at the Championship. A competitive car saw Kimi fly faster than ever and blazing through the field often. The aggressive nature of Kimi showed in his drive and in fact he was now challenging the 5 time champion Schumacher for the WDC.
Kimi began his campaign with the MP4-17 still using the 2002 chassis and obviously at a disadvantage. He qualified a mere 15th at the Albert Park after a qualifying mishap and started in the spare car! However he made full use of his abundant ability to muscle the car to an impressive 3rd. The best part of it was his victory in the wheel to wheel fight with Schumi. Kimi was rewarded his first ever victory in Malaysia. Amidst accidents and torrential rain, Raikkonen ran red hot in Brazil blazing through the grid with some impressive maneuvers over Alonso and Ralf in the heavy rain. His move over Alonso’s Renault was incredible. On a fantastically slippery Interlagos, Raikkonen staged himself for the pass from the tight right turn at corner 10 and accelerated beautifully over Alonso’s slipstream downhill. After making full use of the slipstream throughout the climb back over the hill, Raikkonen made the pass in the Grid line straight. The sight was nothing short of mesmerizing when he continued this momentum through the ‘Senna S’ curve and out braked Ralf Schumacher at Turn 4. He almost won the race after getting past Fisichella when the zenith was denied by a huge accident and the race red flagged.
It's amazing to know that Kimi was in the fight for the crown throughout the season despite just 1 victory. In quite a few races, he started way back from the grid and managed to secure a podium consistently. After the Italian GP, the failure of McLaren to bring in the MP4-18 only made things worse for him. Still using the old car, he made his way to 4th at Monza.
Kimi is regarded by many as the fastest driver on the planet as well as the unluckiest!! His 3 retirements in 2003 is a clear example. Herbert Haug, owner of Mercedes has repeatedly said that his team has failed to give Kimi at least 2 championships due to mechanical and engine stability issues.
The way the 2003 championship evaded him was quite dramatic. 9 points behind Michael, Kimi needed a win at the Suzuka and also needed Michael to stay out of points to be crowned Champion. A bad qualifying session put Kimi 8th on the starting grid with Michael on 14th. With the new ban on the controversial Michelin tyres, Kimi drove his heart out to get to Second behind Ferrari's second driver Barichello and Michael, despite a flat tyre late in the race managed to scamper to 8th spot earning him a point and eventually claiming his 6th ever Championship by just 2 points!
The best part of Kimi is that he never blames anyone for the loss. He takes everything on him even if it was the team's fault on the whole and he never hesitates to praise his team during the golden moments. Calm, composed, straight-forward and Ultra cool - An alloy of all these gives U Kimi!!
Next up: The story of my hero: Clash of the Titans!
