Interesting Revealing Article In F1 Mag About Raikkonen

F1 Magazine's Editor's Comment:

"Speaking of Raikkonen, he's always been one for dividing opinion. Even allowing for the fact that he doesn't like press conferences, it has been said that he's a little, well... dull. If that's your opinion, turn to page 60 immediately and prepare for your point of view to be changed thanks to our astonishing one-on-one interview with him. Enigmatic? Yes. Successful? Absolutely. Dull? Never. A bit like Ferrari, really."


Article Excerpt:

Handy chef.
Perfect neighbour.
Oh, and F1 world champion.
The unexpectedly revealing life of Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi's is the sort of multi-million pound place you see on those TV property programmes. An immaculately plush apartment, just outside Helsinki. Beautiful wooden floors. Glass panels everywhere.

For gadget fans, a preposterous TV screen which drops down from the ceiling, and 4ft-high stereo speakers that must be worth an awful lot of cash. Every part of it just says, in a non-flashy yet matter-of-fact way, expensive. The best you can get. And amidst it all, perfectly at home, sits Kimi Raikkonen. So that's what being a world champion with Ferrari buys you.

This is Kimi's homeland retreat when he's not at his other place in Switzerland, or in fancy hotels around the world. It's him all over - non-flashy yet, in a matter-of-fact way, the best. Sat on a no-doubt pricey and expansive sofa, probably not purchased in a DFS sale, Ferrari's world champion has always been a bit of an enigma.

"Boring," they say. "Doesn't really care," sneer others. "Can't be bothered to talk to the media" is another favourite. The truth is much more frustrating: no one really knows what he's like. Revealing interviews are not Kimi's bag. It's a shame because, as you're about to read, he's straightforward, candid and actually really funny. Totally deadpan, like a Finnish Jimmy Carr. Boring? Not on this evidence...

What gets you up in the morning?

I don't get up, when I wake up it's around noon. If I don't have anything special to do, I sleep as long as I'm tired. I'm never in a bad mood or cranky in the mornings, I just don't wake up if I'm not interested in getting up. It's not a question of needing a certain amount of sleep - I sleep as long as I'm tired. I can easily sleep a whole day, no problem.

How long does it take you to get over a bad result?

The bad feeling goes as quickly as it comes. It pisses you off for a second, but then you forget it. I've always been like this. When I first started out racing, our car used to break down all the time and you couldn't do anything about it apart from cry and complain. Complaining doesn't help anything - the result stays the same.

What does it mean to drive for Ferrari and be world champion with them?

It's the best thing that's ever happened in my career. The most I've ever wanted from anything in my life was to win the world championship, and the first time it came it was with Ferrari, and that makes it even better. Plus, the way that it happened made it even sweeter.

(article is continued in length and depth in the magazine)