Date of birth : 17 October 1979
Place of birth : Espoo, Finland
Birth name : Kimi Matias R䩫k?
Nickname : Iceman
Height : 5' 9
Drives for McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 team (2004).
He won his first F1 GP in Kuola Lumpur trac in Maleyesia in 2003
He brought seven of his cousins, four aunts and his 75-years old granny, Sirkka, to watch the Hungarian GP 2001
. He was outstanding in his year-plus in the series, winning thirteen of the seventeen events he appeared in. Peter Sauber was so impressed that he gave the Finn a test, and after a successful test was signed to the Sauber team for the 2001 season.
It started a solid debut year where he proved he was ready for the big time, finishing with four points scoring finishes and eight finishes in the top eight.
More importantly he was far from the hazard that people expected him to be. While he was outscored by teammate and fellow prospect Nick Heidfeld, McLaren was sufficiently impressed by Kimi that the young Finn earned a spot on Ron Dennis' team for 2002, replacing departing Finn Mika H䫫inen, over his teammate.
The McLaren car suffered many engine problems that season, but the times Kimi did finish he was often on the podium, proving that they made the right choice of drivers.
He nearly won his first race at the French Grand Prix that year but spun out with a handful of laps to go and settled for second place. All told, he finished the season a very solid sixth in points.
Through seven races in 2003, Kimi's McLaren vehicle had been exceptional, netting his first win in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
In six of his seven races he reached the podium, only missing the podium after a crash on the first lap of a race that he was forced to start from the back of the field after a spin in his only shot of qualifying. Despite all this, Kimi failed to claim the 2003 championship and had to settle for second to Michael Schumacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment