Kimi Raikkonen

for F1. Peter Sauber allowed the rookie a few tests in early 2000 and was quick to sign him up for the season.He clinched a point in his first race at the Australian GP of 2000. His efforts in his debut season with Sauber proved utterly fruitful as Ron Dennis - who was in lookout for a replacement for Mika Hakkinen - was quick to rope Kimi into McLaren. It was pretty loud and clear that yet another 'Flying Finn' had arrived in Formula One.He is the reigning Drivers' Champion and his journey over the last half a decade or so has been one to appreciate. Raikkonen has been a driver of natural instincts - which probably explains his entry into F1 straight out of the junior level karting championships.The 'ice man', as he was called, drove like a seasoned professional in his very first GP with McLaren in 2002, claiming a podium finish at the A1 Ring and going on to clinch four podium places in the season. He was still learning a lot about the sport as well as about the legacy of his own team.McLaren came under heavy fire for reliability issues during the 2002 season, especially considering Kimi's season graph that had nine retirements. In hindsight, the driver was blamed for numerous gearbox and mechanical failures that he had caused by pushing the car to the limit - demonstrating his inexperience. His ability as a driver was evident in just his second season with McLaren, where he notched up 91 points, to finish second in the Drivers' Standings while outracing his more experienced teammate David Coulthard and upgrading to the status of the vanguard in the team orders. He claimed his maiden GP victory at the Sepang Circuit.It boiled down to such a tantalizing finish in the 2003 season that Kimi needed to win the last race to clinch an unbelievable championship but missed out by just one place and two points as Barrichello fended off a fierce challenge from the Finn at Suzuka.The subsequent season was extremely disappointing for the Finn as it started with a hat-trick of retirements at Melbourne, Sepang and Interlagos. He did bounce back, though, later in the season to clinch a victory at Spa but ended 2004 at 7th place. 2005 was a breakthrough season of sorts, considering that Schumacher was, for the first time in over seven seasons, not in the race for the Drivers' title. It was a terrific battle between Alonso and Kimi - one that went down to the wire - until the former sealed the deal in the penultimate race at Suzuka.Following a disastrous 2006 season, Raikkonen ended his contract with McLaren to sign up with Ferrari to claim the spot left empty by the, now retired, Michael Schumacher. It has been well documented that the covenant accounts for the Finn becoming the highest paid driver in the sport's history.The 2007 season witnessed an extra special three-way battle for the Drivers' title between Kimi, Alonso and Hamilton. After round eight, Kimi was nowhere close to being flaunted as the favourite but the manner in which he struck back, was awe-inspiring. Kimi won 6 straight races to come back to win in a dramatic final race of the season. 7 points behind championship leader, and Formula1 debutant, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi took the flag ahead of Hamilton, as well as Alonso, who was second in the Championship race. He goes into the 2008 season with his buoyancy on an all-time high and a title to defend. Massa will continue to drive alongside him. The task in front of him is to replicate Michael Schumacher's glory of back to back titles and the start to the season so far has indicated that the race might be leaning a bit towards the Finn already, even at such an early stage in the season. F1 Career2001: F1 DEBUT (Sauber), 10th - 9 points.2002: F1 (McLaren), 6th - 24 points, 4 podiums and 1 fastest lap.2003: F1 (McLaren), 2nd - 91 points, 1 win, 10 podiums, 2 poles and 3 fastest laps.2004: F1 (McLaren), 7th - 45 points, 1 win, 4 podiums, 1 pole and 2 fastest laps.2005: F1 (McLaren), 2nd - 112 points, 7 wins, 12 podiums, 5 poles and 10 fastest laps.2006: F1 (McLaren), 5th - 65 points, 0 wins, 6 podiums, 3 poles and 3 fastest laps.2007: F1 (Ferrari), 1st - 110 points, 6 wins, 12 podiums, 3 poles and 6 fastest laps.Driver Number : 1Ranking : 2 Races : 127 Wins : 17 Poles : 16 Podiums : 52 Career points : 490 Fastest Laps : 28 Pre F1 Career : 1999: Formula Renault Winter Series winner (4 races, 4 wins), 5th in the Formula Ford Zetec Euro Cup. 3rd in Formula Renault (retired from the series after four races due to technical problems.) 2000: F1 TEST DRIVE (Sauber-Petronas), Winner Formula Renault Euro 2000 Series (Manor Motorsport)-3 races, 2 wins, 2 pole positions). Winner Formula Renault British Championship (Manor Motorsport) - 10 races, 7 wins, 10 podium finishes, 7 pole positions, 6 fastest laps.Previous Teams : Sauber and McLaren Grand Prix Debut : 2001, Australian Grand Prix (Sauber-Petronas) First Points : 2001, Australian Grand Prix (6th, Sauber-Petronas) First Podium : 2002, Australian Grand Prix (3rd, McLaren-Mercedes) First Victory : 2003, Malaysian Grand Prix (McLaren-Mercedes) Championship Best : 2007, World Champion (110 Points, Ferrari)2005, 2nd (112 Points, McLaren-Mercedes)