this is the translation of the IMAGE magazine article on Kimi

Translated by @TanyakooTT and @JamesieC1991


The beginning of Kimi Räikkönen's F1 -career depended on millimetres. If you have 5% too much gas at the start, rear tires spin and start fails. If you have 5% too less, car stops and race ends. This is what he was reminded to his earphones in his helmet, before his first F1-start in March 2001. Räikkönen can't afford to fail. Because of his lack of experience, he has got only a test-license for F1 series.
Race engineer gives the last advice trough team radio. Räikkönen adjusts the clutch flaps behind the steering wheel. Other flap goes way back, with other flap he can spin the clutch for about one second.
Red lights ignites one by one, Räikkönen uses his right hand's finger to put on gear 1. Then lights go off and he pushes the gas down.
It takes less than three heart-beats to go faster than any other mammal in the world. In five seconds speed reaches 200km/h.
Every time Räikkönen changes gear, G-forces crash him to his bench, speed starts to blur his field of vision, and brains tell the heart to pump more blood to muscles: more and faster.
While twenty cars next to each other rush to the first turn of Melbourne F1-track, with almost 70m/s speed, the texts of billboards look now just a blur.
Now, one mistake can kill. That's why Räikkönen's brains doesn't process every stimulus, they have gone to alarm-condition, where past and future disappear leaving only weirdly bright vision of this moment. Formula drivers do their job in some kind of continuing shock.
21-year- old Räikkönen's heart is beating, whilst adrenalin rushes trough veins. Mouth dries and muscles work reflexily – like in automatic pilot. When Räikkönen brakes on first turn, kinetic energy wrenches the body forward, when he turns the steering wheel, G-forces almost rip his head off. Räikkönen stirs his mucles. It feels like internals move slower than the rest of the body.

Lap by lap this pressure goes on like physical mill, that beats the supporting muscles to lactic acid, and forces the blood to feet, but doesn't give time to relax for a second. Race is like exact surgical operation, that the doctor has to do in the middle of marathon, with percussion drill on his back, and that ends to wave of black/white flag, 1,5h later. Flag pardons the combinations of human and machine, that race towards each other. Until the next race.

Kimi Räikkönen becomes 6th on his first race. First finn, who scores points in his first race. Now no-one doubts his skills.
He is – for some reason – expectionally skilled for driving car fast.

When a driver spots the braking lights of car in front of him, it takes about a second to push brake. Average reaction times are only indicative. Other people's brains are faster than other's. Our time admires speed and hates slowness.

Good news is that updating yourself is actually possible. Biology can be hacked. For example brain's reaction time is explained by hereditar factors, but it's nowadays believed that practicing is more important than talent. New brain research thinks that brains aren't just changeless blob, but constantly changing organ.

Finally, after persistent training and endless repeating, a certain stimulus begins to make decisions automatically, almost like machine. Development can be seen in brain photos.
The sensitivity of pianist's fingers is based on the fact that their brains have updated themselves. For the same reason race-drivers, like Kimi Räikkönen, can change sights to function exceptionally fast. Finnish surgeon Aki Hintsa has a funny story about this.

F1-dirvers have to every few years make a test that measures psychodynamic perception, and the results are used for example comparison when driver has drove off the track on a race. Like this they can examine if the crash has weaken driver's perception.
In 2005 Hintsa worked as a doctor for Räikkönen's current team McLaren. Räikkönen was invited for testind, and Hintsa went to supervise the test. On the premises the supervising doctor asked if Hintsa also wanted also to do the test – as there were 2 computers.
Hintsa got immediately excited. As a surgeon he thought he had his perception is way more better than average. He also knew the test's logic before: driver is shown different patterns and 3D shapes from computer, and then is asked about them. For example you have to be able to choose 2/5 same kind of houses that are on different portion etc.
Test took ten minutes and Räikkönen seemed to be almost asleep in front of the machine. Few times Hintsa looked Kimi's answers and though he had few wrong.
Then it was time for results.
Hintsa had done great job. 60% is very good result. But surgeon's victory didn't last long. Räikkönen got rigt 80% of the questions.

Actually Hintsa shouldn't have a reason to feel arrogant towards sleepy-looking Räikkönen. The perception of F1-drivers is constantly tested, and top talents stand always out from good drivers. They say Räikkönen has some kind of natural talent for driving immediately fast: To manage new tracks and car's qualities at the point when others are just warming up.
In formulas the difference between perfect and disaster is about half a second. That's void time, but for some reason the drivers on same team still have constantly big differences. Sitting behind the wheel, other drivers immediately create a some kind of cyborg with their car, bond with human and machine. They can help the machine on what it can't do: to detect changing factor, readinf the situation, timing and changing tactic in the middle of the race. Driving on empty track an computer-controlled car would probably do better than F1-car drove by human, but machine probably wouldn't on a race situation, find same kind of overtaking places like Kimi Räikkönen does.

Räikkönen's fast reasoning is probably caused by both practicing and heredity. For the whole his life he has, almost manicly, done different kinds of motorsports, so his brains have got very quick. But apparently Räikkönen has some kind of genetic propensity fot good perception. When Kimi was little his parents paid attention to Kimi's perception and coordination between eyes and hands. When Matti-dad teached Kimi and brother Rami to make spatulas out of wood, there was two kind of types. Kimi's well-made spatulas could be sold at the market, impatient Rami's spatulas could be put to fireplace.

This spatula -example affiliates also to concentration, the other vital skill of F1 world. F1-race lasts almost two hours and losing concentration for a second can lead to crash and in worst-case-scenario to serious injure or death.
Constant risk of death sets one more challenge to F1-drivers, which makes the genre's requirements almost inhumane. Decision-making process has to be done without the one factor that is part of humanity, but disturbs the performance: Fear.
Story of Räikkönen's bravery in Belgium Spa is pleasantly told in motorsport circles.

Olivier Panis from Honda had just got on top of the most famous turn, Eau Rouge. Before reaching Kemmel's straight his car's engine blows off leaving a big, thick smoke behind the car. Nine seconds later Kimi Räikkönen drives trough that thick, white smoke cloud with full throttle.
On the Finish line the clocks stop to top time. Räikkönen gets to start his race from the first line for the first time in his career.
Later it shows that Kimi had had time to ask which side of the smoke cloud Panis' car is, and then had chosen the other side. This makes driving to smoke cloud very brave. Everything else would have been stupid or cowardness, both things that don't go along with F1. Those, who know Kimi Räikkönen the best, could have said this is typical for him.

Before everyone else, big brother had to be won. Kimi Räikkönen was born almost two years after his big brother Rami, so he learned everything a little bit after his mate: to talk, drive a bike, read and so on. Two year age-difference was so little so they were very close.
Older and verbally more talented Rami teased, and Kimi used his fists. Kimi was quiet but active tearaway, who actually never learned to walk, he changed the crawling straight to running. Even as a child he preferred doing than talking. When Matti-dad showed the boys how to weld, the Räikkönen family started to build the most amazing bikes of that side of Espoo.
But as little as two years is, it's also a lot when you're a child. Younger had to be quite gutsy, so he managed to fight with his 2 year older brother. With big brother's friends he everyday had to prove his existance: jump from a little higher roof to pile of snow, bike a little faster down the narrow forst paths, step a little bolder on top of floating piece of styrofoam on freezing Espoo river. Shut down the fear and just do it.

When the brother's dad took them to watch karting at Vihti track, they found a sport, where all of Kimi's features. And both brothers instantly fell in love with the sport.
Soon they had to buy a car to boys, then another so both had their own. Then they started to travel around Finland with caravan. Kimi learned very fast, and without help, how to drive, endless hours on the track made him sure. Racing became a project for whole family: Boys drove, dad maintained, mum clocked times, and all the time money was tight.
Summers were for racing and in winters they had to work in few jobs at the same time so they could pay the bills.
Once the career almost ended becouse of money problems. Räikkönen family's house needed renovation badly, but money was very tight. Family sat down and had a meeting. They had to decide, does Kimi continue racing for one more season or do they make a renovation to the house, which needed indoor toilet.
After few years Kimi then succesfully drove in european karting-races. At home they still used outdoor toilet.
Afterwards it's easy to say, that the decision was right. It wasn't longer than couple of years after European races, when Kimi was in his first F1 race with team Sauber 's car.
That was amazing, but still not good enough for Kimi. After all he had as a child, wrapped his hands around mum's neck and said that one day he will win F1 world championship.

It took painfully many years to achieve that. First Räikkönen had to go trough torturing 5 year path with McLaren, which had a competitive car, but which betrayed at important times.

Human has two kinds of muscle cells: Fast and slow. Fast cells cut carbs without oxygen, when the energy can be fastly used. Slow cells need oxygen, but last longer. Fast cells are needed at sprints, slow cells are needed at marathons, triathlons and F1-races.
Those kind of cells Kimi has a lot. Already in the beginning of his career he ran 3500 metres in Cooper test. He is said to have one of the best condition of all drivers. A Driver, who can drive fastest laps at the end of the race – when many other drivers have cramps on their hands, legs and neck.
Trough media Kimi seems to be a child of nature, who outside races concentrates to drinking and partying: when drunk, gives shoulder massage to Frederik (finnish singer) at Canaria, and massages himself at strip club, passes out on a street holding a dolphin in his arms, participates to boat competition in gorilla suit and so on. But in real life he apparently is a hard-working trainee. Cycles long trips around his home in Switzerland and lifts weights at his gym. F1-race is almost 2-hour-long physical torture, where driver can lose 3 kg of his weight by just sweating. Good shape is needed, so you have power to concentrate on every turn, brake and acceleration for the whole race. Räikkönen's training isn't usually mentioned on media, because Räikkönen doesn't, well, keep noise about himself.
Slow muscle cells have the interesting side of easier and longer developing than fast muscle cells. Fast cells start to disappear after 20 years of age, but endurance athletes are usually at their best on age 30-40, just before aging starts to catch the development of heart and lungs.
If we look only the physics, 27-year-old Kimi Räikkönen was only approaching the top of his physical performance when he moved to Ferrari at 2007.

No-one really believed to it, eventhough afterwards many say they did. Kimi Räikkönen, who had moved from McLaren to Ferrari, managed to win the title when first he was 17points behind the leader. It was a series of many weird coincidences.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had the chance to win the title already in China, one race before the last race of the season. Rainy Shangai track Hamilton made an amateur mistake.
Hamilton's car got out of control before arriving to pitlane and drifted to gravel. Hamilton had to retire. Media blamed the lack of experience, and he didn't defend himself even when he could. Two laps before retirement Hamilton had said to team that his tires are gone, but they said he should stay on track.
Räikkönen exploited McLaren's messing, won China GP, and got – even for his own surprise – a change to win the championship.
A very little chance. Before Brasilian GP, Räikkönen was 3rd on championship behinf Hamilton and Alonso. If Räikkönen wins, Hamilton could be not better than 7th. It seemed unlikely.

Before race there was a conspiracy theory. Based on that Ferrari and McLaren had made a deal that Räikkönen gets the title as a credit for revealed spy scandal last summer. McLaren's main designer Mike Coughlan had got secret information ftom Ferrari's engineer Nigel Stepney. On top of that Stepney had sabotaged Felipe Massa's and Kimi Räikkönen's cars at Monaco GP.
McLaren got record-breaking 100 million dollar fine and they lost all the team's championship points.

Conspiracy theory seemed ridiculous so it was quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, very weird things happened to Lewis Hamilton on Brasilian GP.
First Hamilton who started from P2, dropped to 8th on the start.
When looked in slow motion, it seems that Hamilton pushes the button behind the wheel, that sets the speed limit for 60km/h, as driving trough pitlane. McLaren said Hamilton's car had gearing problems.
Kimi Räikkönen became World Champion. But as a person it didn't really change him.

He doesn't let anyone near him. He is allergic to people who are even little intruding.
The question that had least good answers on professional sports is: How is he as a person?Reason for is that even the closest persons have big problems of knowing him – nor the millions of fans. A lot of happens behinf the eyes, but very little is seen outside.
I've seen him on many different moods. When he wants he can be very bening, but at a times he can be very cold towards the media or autograpgh-hunters.
Typical Räikkönen.
Except these quotes are taken from book wrote by Hank Haney, Tiger Woods' ex swing coach. In the book he describes golf's superstar's personality.
Räikkönen and Woods seem to have similarities on relating with outside-world. As Woods, Räikkönen can give a very charming picture of himself, and apparently in private life isn't as withdrawl as in Formula pitlane: he has apparently a lot of friends and wife was Miss Finland. As Juhani Tamminen (finnish icehockey coach), a shy man can't have a beautiful wife.
In public, Kimi usually is serious and reticent. But could it be, that withdrawl of top athlete, like Räikkönen and Woods, is useful surviving-mechanism?
F1 drivers have estimated that good F1-race depends 80% on mental features and 20 % on physical features.
Media is like a computer virus, that gets removed by anti-virus programme.
But let's see how it goes this time. Kimi Räikkönen is walking towards us to give an interview.

I have to wish that after sweating day at the track, Räikkönen doesn't get a cold, as he is wearing only summer clothes. Shorts, ferrari-red t-shirt, that is covered with sponsor logos, and ferrari-cap. Of course you'll manage with those clothes here in february Bahrain, where Räikkönen is testing Ferrari's this year's car. It has 1,6 litres 6-cylinder engine and funny-looking nose. Today's testing is over, and pitlane area covered with palm trees is starting to get quiet. It's getting dark, from somewhere is floating a smell of grilled lamb.

Next to Räikkönen is walking Ferrari's publicist Renato Bisignani. His job is to keep sure media doesn't rip Räikkönen apart. And the other way round.

Räikkönen sits on the bench and nods as a hello. We have only 15 minutes, but thankfully Räikkönen is world's fastest Finn. And also he seems to be quite good mood today. Serious man he is, doesn't smile easily, but he does have multiple words in his answers. Maybe the return the Ferrari warms him after difficult years.
Kimi Räikkönen, why did you decide in year 2012 to return to F1 after two years?
”Well, it's difficult to say.. I guess it's the only thing I can do, at least a little bit. Apparently I like this at least that much, so I can be arsed to drive. Racing has always been wonderful”

How have you prepared for this season?
”Well, quite the same way as every other year.. I don't really have anything special things, so most of the stuff I do by myself and with physio when I feel like it. Basic things really.”

What do you think during the driving?
”Well I don't probably think really anything, anything else than I usually think when I drive. You don't think about that there. It depend's what's happening in front of you, and of course you have to quite fast do the decision and hopefully it's the right one. But I don't know, I don't probably think much. Or I never think of those things” Räikkönen says.

Kimi Räikkönen,what makes you a fast driver?
The driver thinks a little moment, then starts with meaning of right set up, continues with something about naturality of driving and good and bad days. Then he gets frustrated. ”I don't know how, and I don't have the need to explain, what makes me fast.”

Like that, that's it. The more human seems like a machine, the more uninteresting he is. Machines can do the right moves, but if they could reflect, we would still be waiting indrustial revolution. No-one would buy a phone that has also feelings. Machine's job is to coldly pass the things, that we humans get cought.
This Räikkönen seems to be that only when he has his driver-mode on. On freetime he is deeply humane character.
Like in the video of SeiskaTV, where a guy who looks a lot like Kimi Räikkönen, sings in karaokebar in Kirkkonummi, song called Rekkamies by Matti Esko. There's something very beautiful in there.

Driver, who never speaks anything, relaxes by singin old finnish song. Mä oon rekkamies, oon hitto soikoon, ei tullu poliisii, ei virkamiestä...
But why of all the songs in the world, Rekkamies?
Suddenly to Räikkönen's face appears so beautiful smile, it seems his serious face seems to melt. It seems like he has seen an oasis in the middle of desert. White, well-cared upper teeth are revealed and few little wrinkles appear in his eyes. With that smile he has been forgiven so much from his mum and from girls. ”I don't know.. truck drivers are... tough drivers” Räikkönen says.
Then without saying a word, he raises up from his bench. Next interview begins in 10 seconds.

In the beginning of May, the championship series has had 4 races. Kimi Räikkönen hangs only in place 12. Season has been awful for Ferrari. Engine doesn't seem to have power and the car just doesn't work.
But part of the reason is Räikkönen himself. Teammate Fernano Alonso has managed to get 3rd place on the series. Räikkönen still doesn't have the right feeling for the car. Experts says that the reason is power steering.
Now he quickly should update himself again to new level. Once again. Otherwise Ferrari could change more powerful prosessor to the car. Our time admires speed and hates slowness.

Kimi said that in an interview?

Quote: WHATEVER wrote in post #353

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Excuse my ignorance, but what did Tobias Gruner tweet to make Kimi react?

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Tobias Grüner F1 @tgruener · 7. Juni
#F1 Rumours in Montreal paddock Ferrari might sack Raikkonen after this season. According to my info he's got a contract till end of 2015

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but it was just badly worded

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#F1 To clarify... just wanted to say Kimi will be sacked rumours not credible cause he's got a contract till end of 2015. Nothing else.

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the rumour was reported by others too then so not sure he is only to blame. anyway it's bullshit.

interesting in the reports was that they all said Kimi has 2 years contract plus 1 year option..

Quote: WHATEVER wrote in post #357

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And here goes the Italian press:

(Thanks to Tania) I'll try to translate later, but now I can tell you its not nice...

E proprio Autosprint stamattina ha scritto:
"Eh già, può succedere anche che Kimi Raikkonen perda la calma in pubblico, in una conferenza stampa. Che prima ancora di aprire bocca - pardon, di parlare - si rivolga con inaspettata ferocia a un povero, smilzo giornalista tedesco con un 'se tu quello che ha scritto quella m... su di me? No, non cercare di spiegarti, è inutile!'.
La emme in questione è una voce girata domenica mattina secondo la quale la Ferrari è pronta a far fuori Kimi. Una bufala, non l'unica peraltro letta o sentita nel weekend canadese. Ma il fatto di prendersela tanto dimostra due cose: primo, i piloti fanno solo finta di non leggere le notizie che li riguardano; secondo, il clima è piuttosto teso. Raikkonen ha un contratto di due anni e non c'è nessuna clausola di uscita, se non consensuale; ma non dovrebbe prendersela per certe stupidaggini (che il nostro amico tedesco aveva peraltro bollato come tali), a rischio di alimentare altre voci.
Di fatto, Raikkonen non può negare l'evidenza. Il suo comunque è un caso: il punticino raccolto in Canada è un regalo grazie all'incidente Perez-Massa, altrimenti era ancora una volta fuori dai punti. E con quel punticino sale proprio alla pari con Felipe, ma sono solo 18 punti, molti meno dell'anno scorso quando in Lotus lottava costantemente per il podio. "Non capisco, in gara certe volte siamo veloci e in altre fasi no, non è c'è un comportamento prevedibile. E poi quando ci sono i pit stop, spesso finiamo dietro a degli altri piloti e rimaniamo bloccati lè e non c'è verso di passarli". In questo momento, è un dato di fatto, la squadra è tutta con Kimi per dargli appoggio. Quanto questo potrà durare, in un anno così, lo vedremo.

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Yeah, it can happen that Kimi Raikkonen loses his temper in public at a press conference. That before you even open your mouth - pardon, to talk - he speaks with unexpected ferocity to a poor, skinny German journalist with an "if you are the one who wrote that shit about me? No, do not try to explain it, it's useless!".
The shit in question is a rumour turning up Sunday morning, according to which Ferrari is ready to throw Kimi out. A hoax, however, not the only one read or heard over the weekend in Canada. But the fact that it angers demonstrates two things: first, the drivers only pretend not to read the news that affects them; second, the atmosphere is rather tense.

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so Kimi reacted himself to it, he heard about the rumour and knew who it was that is not usual for Kimi but it's understandable though..

i'm actually happy that he spoke up. i dont know how the guy wrote that tweet and if he expressed himself correctly in english, but it was not good the way he wrote it. and sometimes even the calmest person can take just enough!

Quote: WHATEVER wrote in post #356

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So that is what Kimi does on Mondays while we all suffer with the after-GP-comments on him

I think we have to make some changes in our lives

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