🇫🇮 Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen is a retired Finnish racing driver who competed across 21 seasons from 2001 to 2023, amassing 354 starts and 21 race wins principally in Formula 1, where he secured the World Drivers' Championship in 2007 with Ferrari. Classified as FIA Platinum in endurance racing, Räikkönen maintained an average finishing position of P6.4 across all competition. He spent the bulk of his career in Formula 1, entering the category as a novice and competing at the sport's elite level for nearly two decades alongside multiple world champions, including nine-time champion Lewis Hamilton, four-time champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, and three-time champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.[1]

Räikkönen's record against his most frequent rivals reflects the competitive nature of his era. Against Hamilton, he finished behind on 157 occasions and ahead on 42 across 199 shared races, a pattern consistent with Hamilton's superior rating. Conversely, his head-to-head against Alonso, a driver of comparable strength, tilted in Räikkönen's favour; he finished ahead of the Spanish driver 106 times to 90 behind across 196 races. Against Vettel and Sergio Perez, strong drivers rated higher than Räikkönen overall, he trailed in the win-loss metrics, finishing behind Vettel 124 times to 56 ahead and behind Perez 100 times to 52. He also maintained a winning record against Jenson Button, finishing ahead on 103 occasions to 47 behind. His performances against newer generations, including Verstappen, Russell, and Charles Leclerc, saw him occasionally finish ahead despite those drivers' commanding ratings, a testament to his durability in the sport.[2]

Following his departure from Formula 1 in 2021, Räikkönen made two starts in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 and 2023 without finishing on the podium, bringing his career to a close.