“His stats prove he is an interesting anomaly. This means he could either be seen as one of the greatest who deserved at least three titles or was one who had the ability to be one of the greats but lacked the mindset. Or it could simply mean his equipment let him down (the same way Jim Clark could easily have won the 62-63-64-65 titles if his car only lasted a few more laps in the last races of 1962 and 1964.)
Only 5 drivers in the history of F1 had more than 100 podium finishes. Schumacher, Hamilton, Vettel, Prost, and Räikkönen. Now when you consider that all the other drivers had at least 4 titles(!) but Räikkönen only 1, then it’s indeed an anomaly.
When it comes to raw race pace, the fastest lap is a good indication of how fast a driver is in race conditions. Likewise, only Schumacher and Hamilton have more fastest laps than Räikkönen (Hamilton just 1 more than Räikkönen) and those two are 7 time and 6 time world champions. Meanwhile the two drivers who come after Räikkönen in the all time fastest lap list is Prost and Vettel. Both of those being 4 time World champions.
Räikkönen has a few interesting records too in F1:
- Longest span between the first and last win: 15 years 6 months 28 days. (Hamilton must win races in 2023 to better this)
- Longest span between the first and last pole: 15 years 2 months 4 days. (Hamilton can beat this in 2023 at earliest)
- Fastest ever average speed on a F1 track: Monza 2018, qualifying. 263.588 km/h (163.785 mph)
- Most fastest laps in a single season: 10 which he managed both in 2005 and 2008 (ironically while not winning either title), shared with Schumacher’s 10 in 2004 (with the stellar F2004 Ferrari)
- The only F1 driver to arrive in F1 without stints in either F3 or F3000/GP2/Formula 2.
Interesting trivia: Räikkönen is the only F1 driver to win for McLaren, Ferrari, and Lotus. Let’s compare with others:
- Emerson Fittipaldi won races for Lotus and McLaren, but never for Ferrari.
- Nigel Mansell raced for Lotus, Ferrari, and McLaren, but only won races for Ferrari.
- Mario Andretti won races for Lotus and Ferrari, but never for McLaren.
- Niki Lauda won races for Ferrari and McLaren, but never for Lotus.
- Ayrton Senna won races for Lotus and McLaren, but never for Ferrari.
- Alain Prost won races for Ferrari and McLaren, but never for Lotus.
Räikkönen is the only driver to win races in the three different engine regulations eras (3.0 liter V10, 2.4 liter V8, 1.6 liter V6 turbo)
- Schumacher won in the V10 and V8 era, but not in V6 turbo.
- Hamilton won in the V8 and V6 turbo era, but not in V10.
- Alonso won in the V10 and V8 era, but not in V6 turbo.
- Vettel won in the V8 And V6 turbo era, but not in V6 turbo.
The only F1 driver to have raced against world champions Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve (and Michael Schumacher, had he never made his 2010-2012 comeback.)
👑 Kimi is a living part of F1 history 👑
