Von: Red Bulletin 10046733.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Rebel with a cause What does Kimi Raikkonen do away from the track? One minute he’s Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, the next he’s Bill Murray in Stripes. But the character Kimi really wants to be is Captain Jack Sparrow. He talks to Adam Hay-Nicholls about his life at home, his big screen alter-ego and his maverick spirit.
Kimi Raikkonen is different to most other racing drivers – and certainly different to most Formula One World Champions. Michael Schumacher may race bikes these days and Jacques Villeneuve may occasionally strum the guitar, but neither has anywhere near has the breadth of extra-curricular interests that the Iceman has. Nor do they have as many toys…
Q: You’ve got two amazing Walz Hardcore motorcycles that were custom-made for you. How involved were you in designing them? Kimi: I was quite involved with the first one, the black one. The new one looks similar – I just told them to paint it red and put some Ferrari logos on it. There are some subtle differences under the skin too. I love them to bits, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. They’ve been exhibited at a few shows, but they’re for riding. I take them out to Switzerland and I ride to Monza every year with my friends. They have similar tastes in bikes to me.
Q: Both bikes have “Iceman” written across the fuel tank. If you park one of them outside a shop don’t you worry that there will be a crowd of fans standing around it when you get back? Kimi: No no, I never just leave they because they’ve got no key so anyone could just take them! I have to park them in gated or guarded car-parks or else they will disappear. Besides, I don’t use them to go shopping, I ride them simply to ride. So we’ll go off on a road trip for a couple of days and I won’t leave the saddle. I like to go over the mountains in Italy and let rip along lakeside roads. You can’t get better than that. 10180398.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Q: At the Amber fashion show charity auction you paid 200,000 Euros for Sharon Stone’s Corvette Stingray. What other toys do you keep in your garage? Kimi: I’ve got some other bikes, probably 10 in total. Mostly motocross bikes. I have some other cars, including a Ferrari Enzo – my only Ferrari – and skidoos. I have a Hummer and a few Cadillacs including an Escalade pick-up. I’ve just got a new Fiat 500, which I really like. And when I went to see a DTM race a while back I took a fancy to the Mercedes DTM car and bought that.
Q: Your first car was a Lada right? Kimi: Yeah I sold it a long time ago to a friend. Ladas are good cars – they never break down.
Q: Did you ever try to take it racing? Kimi: No, but I did something similar with a Beetle. I did some racing with cars you can bash into eachother – not banger racing exactly, it was on sand. I had this Beetle kitted out with a roll cage, then I rolled it four times or something and it didn’t work anymore! Yeah, I pretty much killed it.
Q: And you own a Mini don’t you? Kimi: Yeah, a very old one. I’ve been meaning to fix it up for years, but I just haven’t found the time.
Q: What’s missing from your garage? Kimi: Nothing. Instead, I need to be getting rid of some stuff! The thing is, I don’t want to get something and not use it. I use all of these toys all the time, especially the motocross bikes. If I find I don’t need something, I’ll sell it. And often it’s easier just to rent.
Q: Do you get to play ice-hockey much these days? Kimi: I play every winter. I grew up with ice-hockey, played it all the time as a kid and I like to keep in practice. I don’t have one team who I’m support massively but I have a lot of friends who play in the NHL and in Finland. 4827.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Q: Don’t you just watch it for the fights? Kimi: Well those are of course a bonus! You don’t see so much of it in Finland because they penalize you heavily for it. But the fights are part of the game, I think, and it spices it up a bit. I went to see the Olympic finals when they were in Turin and I’ve been to see the NHL in the States. I wish I could get over there more often, but it’s just finding the time. I try to see the matches on TV, but in Europe they’re shown at 3am. That’s not a problem if I’m at home and I’ve nothing to get up for, but on a grand prix weekend I can’t really stay up. And a lot of the hotels we stay in don’t have the channels.
Q: You say you played a lot as a kid. But what were you like at school? Teacher’s pet? Kimi: No, bad! Not good, I hated school. I was interested in different things. I only liked sport and lessons where you did practical things.
Q: Aside from F1, what sport do you most enjoy? Kimi: Definitely snow-mobile racing. But this winter it was tough because there was no snow except in Lapland. And it takes a while to get there. If I could do it in Switzerland, I could do it every day, but it’s illegal there.
Q: Why on earth do you live there then? Kimi: No, I like it, but for sure, if you talk about motor racing it’s difficult. It’s very strict there but they let you do motocross and it’s the same in Italy where, in a lot of places, skidoos are banned. For some reason, it’s a difficult sport to do. Finland is one of the only places where you don’t get shit for it.
Q: It’s pretty dangerous though. Have you ever broken anything? Kimi: I’ve been injured many times, but not so bad that I couldn’t walk afterwards. For sure, I have had massive bruises on my back and everything, but so far I haven’t broken anything. As long as I can get back up and jump in a Formula One car, that’s the important thing. kimimania2004-06-18-c.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Q: You’ve done a year of compulsory military service too. I’m guessing you weren’t so keen on all that discipline. Kimi: Yeah I did a lot of things there that I shouldn’t have, and I didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t do this and had to do that…
Q: Sounds a bit like Mclaren… Kimi: (Laughing) Yeah, when I look back on my year in the army it was a good time, but when I was there I hated it because I couldn’t go where I wanted and I’d get shit from people. I still laugh with my friends about some of the stuff we got up to.
Q: What mischief did you get up to? Were you like Bill Murray in Stripes – the joker of the regiment? Kimi: Yeah something like that. I probably shouldn’t go into too much detail! Anyway, I was 21 then and I was still in the army when I did my first F1 test with Sauber in 2000.
Q: What did you shoot? Kimi: Nobody so far!
Q: No, I mean what weaponry? Kimi: We all had AK47s. I’ve actually shot quite a different few types of gun.
Q: I remember at the Red Bull party in Sao Paulo last year, you celebrated your title by getting behind the bar and making everyone drinks. So what cocktail do you most enjoy making? Kimi: Not really cocktails. I’ll choose shots, thanks. Or maybe a Vodka and cola.
Q: Have you seen that YouTube clip where you fell off your yacht? Kimi: I’ve probably seen all of my YouTube clips. I’ve been involved with all of them certainly! Yeah, well, there are a lot of things that don’t end up on there, and that’s a good thing!
Q: If you could be any character from any movie, who would you be? Kimi: Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean (Kimi roars with laughter). He seems to know how to have a good time. I might need to drink a lot of rum to get into the role! I love movies like this.
Q: If a time machine were invented, where would you travel to? Kimi: If you’re talking about racing, then a time that was more fun, like the 1970s. I could have enjoyed it. And before that, maybe the Wild West.
Q: Finally, do you think you’re an easy person to interview? Kimi: I don’t mind what people think too much. If they ask nice questions then yes, but for sure if they ask stupid questions I won’t answer and they will think I’m a dickhead. But it goes both ways. If everyone’s nice to each other it’s much easier.
Six reasons why we love Kimi:
1. Well-dressed Kimi In a bid for anonymity, Kimi likes to conduct his business in a gorilla suit. He chose to wear the costume for a speed boat race, entering under his nom de guerre, James Hunt. Raikkonen and two friends competed in the Hanko Poker run, a society event where crews speed around the Finnish port, collecting poker cards that they play with. However when the ape tried to moor the boat, the skipper yelled “Kimi, don’t tie it like that,” and proceeded to give him a lesson in knots. Cover blown.
2. Inappropriate Kimi It was meant to be the glorious swansong of the man Kimi would succeed at Ferrari. Michael Schumacher’s last race, at Interlagos in 2006, saw the German presented with a trophy by Pele. All the drivers turned up to watch – apart from Kimi. Moments later, ITV’s Martin Brundle found the Finn hanging out beside his car. Why had he missed Schumi’s farewell? “I was having a shit,” he disclosed. Well, he was number two on the grid.
3. Gambling Kimi The Finn’s performance at the 2005 European Grand Prix left all his rivals in the shade. But one small mistake flat-spotted the right-front tyre, and it would cost him dear. With Fernando Alonso close behind, Kimi and his team faced a tough decision: pit and settle for six points, or stay out and go for broke. Sadly, that’s exactly what the McLaren suspension did on the very last lap when the tyre failed spectacularly. Kimi very nearly hit Jenson Button’s BAR as he spun down the straight in a shower of carbon and rubber. No points, but no regrets either.
4. Knife-throwing Kimi German TV executives realized that, if they were to get Kimi on their programme, they might need to rethink the standard sit-down chat show format. Instead, they set up a circus big top-tent and gave Kimi a motocross bike to ride infront of the audience. But the piece de resistance was when he attempted to throw a set of stake knives at a member of the audience – almost. He may have been a great shot in the Finnish army, but his knife skills are a bit rusty.
5. Kamikaze Kimi Suzuka 2005 saw Raikkonen’s most impressive performance to date. He started 17th on the grid and fought his way through the field. Giancarlo Fisichella thought he had 10 points when he started the final lap. But Kimi had been planning a dramatic finale. As they raced down the straight to the first turn, Kimi got a good tow, went as far to the outside and he could, rode the rev limiter, flickered right and shot right cross the front of the Renault, snatching the lead with less than a minute and a half to spare.
6. Party Kimi Raikkonen first gained tabloid notoriety when he showed a London lap dancer the real reason he wears a six point harness. He lost his driving license in Budapest in 2006, but this had nothing to do with a road traffic incident. Kimi had been a Red Bull boat party and was swinging his bag above his head, showering the VIP room with cash and cards. Fortunately everything, including his passport, was returned the next morning. But Kimi’s finest drunken moment was the yacht party where our hero tried to throw something at the crowd below, but lost his balance, falling off the fly deck and onto his head.
He goes by many nicknames : Kimppa, Räikkä, Kimster, Räkä and the most famous of all - Iceman. Kimi Räikkönen, aka James Hunt, is a man of many faces, though he usually maintains one singular expression - frosty. So who is James Hunt, and is Kimi following in his footsteps? Interview before Singapore GP 24-09-2009 - All rights reserved by RAZORTV
Q: Do you have any special rituals when the helmet is concerned like many other drivers have? KR: I wipe it, so that I can see well
If ever one incident epitomised the enigmatic nature of Kimi Raikkonen, his performance in Spain last month provided it.
The Finn had finished third in only his fourth race since returning from a two-year hiatus. As is customary, he was required to be interviewed on TV alongside his two fellow podium-finishers, in this case Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso.
With the mainstream English-language interviews complete, each man was asked to say a few words in his native tongue. Alonso and Maldonado both spoke at length in Spanish about their race, the issues they faced, their hopes going forward and thanked their teams for their hard work in Barcelona and back at their respective factories.
When the camera turned to Raikkonen to address Finnish viewers, he simply said: "Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers."
Unintentionally, in the space of five seconds, Raikkonen had displayed perfectly his three vastly different personas: the racer, the recluse and the rascal.
Brilliant behind the wheel, mute at the microphone and a wild-child while not working.
In the sphere of world sportsmen, nobody more than Raikkonen juxtaposes an aptitude at his chosen profession with such an apparent lack of enthusiasm.
The 2007 world champion, Raikkonen's cold, insouciant demeanour has seen him earn the sobriquet of "Iceman". He has embraced the nickname; he has it inked into his inner left forearm.
When he sat down at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last week to speak to The National, he did so wearing a face as straight as the peak of his Lotus F1 baseball cap.
If a font type existed that gradually got smaller and smaller until it became illegible, it would perfectly convey the way Raikkonen answers a question. His response, regardless of the query put to him, is almost always delivered in a muted monotone that tails off in a way that suggests he is bored even of his own voice.
"Interviews are never the best things for me …" he said. "I am here because I like to race and drive, and everything else is not the reason I am here … I have to do it, so I do … But if you take the racing away … I would never come to the circuit …"
Like a conundrum similar to that of buying a birthday present for a millionaire, what can possibly stoke excitement in a man who drives at speeds in excess of 300kph? The answer appears to be "nothing". Yet his stale public persona in the paddock is far removed from the stories that swirl around regarding his extra-curricular activities.
The week before the start of the 2007 world championship, Raikkonen's debut race with Ferrari, while the majority of the driver field were in Melbourne preparing for the season-opening race, he was competing in a snowmobile race in Finland. He competed under the pseudonym James Hunt, a tipping of the cap to the late British F1 driver renowned as much for his playboy antics as his 1976 world championship success.
Six months later, "James Hunt" was registered to compete at a Jet Ski race, but when the day arrived and spectators backed the shoreline hoping for a glimpse of the F1 driver, they were greeted by a group of men dressed in gorilla suits. When asked shortly after the incident, Raikkonen replied: "Yeah, but was it really me? You don't know."
In Monaco last month, after seeking permission from Hunt's family, he wore a specially designed helmet in tribute to the fun-loving English driver who died in 1993 at age 45.
Hunt operated in a hedonistic era when F1 was about racing and partying and chasing girls. Raikkonen, who in 2004 married a former Miss Scandinavia, said it is not so much Hunt he admires, but the way that generation lived.
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18.05.2012 19:06 (zuletzt bearbeitet: 18.05.2012 19:18)
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