Helsinki, 9 December – After the end of this long Formula 1 season and before heading to Maranello for the Christmas festivities along with the team, Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen got behind the wheel of a Ferrari FF in his native Finland. At the Premier Park circuit, on the outskirts of Helsinki, the driver took part in an event organised by Shell, the long term Scuderia Ferrari partner. During the day, apart from meeting his fellow countrymen in the form of the media, guests and fans, Kimi Raikkonen got behind the wheel of an FF, driving a few laps on the ice track, taking some guests along as passengers. It was very exciting, not just for the lucky few who managed to ride along with the last man to win the Formula 1 world title in a Prancing Horse car. “It was fun, despite the bad weather” commented Kimi afterwards. “The rain made the track slippery, but even in these conditions the FF was really exciting to drive.”
Kimi Raikkonen thinks another season of predictable speculation about his future will soon begin.
In 2015, all the talk was about whether Ferrari would replace him with Valtteri Bottas, even though the Maranello team ultimately signed Raikkonen again.
But Raikkonen, who will race in F1 for the fourteenth full season next year, thinks the same journalists will be asking all the same questions in 2016.
"I'm used to it," he told the Finnish broadcaster MTV during a media event in Helsinki.
"It is the same people (journalists) year after year and pretty much the same questions.
"Every year, it is (questions about) motivation problems, the contract running out, this and that. It's not very surprising.
"Sadly it won't change and it will probably start around February next year," Raikkonen, 36, said, presumably referring to the start of pre-season testing for the 2016 season.
"It is the same whether you have a one year or a ten-year contract. It is just formula one," he added.
Mark Arnall, right, has worked with Kimi Raikkonen for 14 years and even takes care of the Finnish driver's gloves.Pictures / AP
You would think that a person in Formula 1 who has worked at more races than most of the drivers on today's grid, who has been closely involved with three top-line winning F1 teams and two world champions, a person who is on television, front and centre in the garage at every F1GP, would have a name known to millions of fans.
But not so.
Mark Arnall is not a mechanic nor an engineer, certainly not a driver or a "profiling" guest vying to get in front of the camera.
Arnall is Kimi Raikkonen's personal trainer, dietician, massage therapist, personal assistant, nutritionist, minder, wardrobe assistant, confidant and close friend. He also runs Raikkonen's racing life and is attached hip and shoulder to him at any Grand Prix.
Like many driver trainers, Arnall came into Formula 1 almost by accident.
"I was working at the University of Surrey and alongside running a sports injuries clinic and training athletes I also taught climbing and skiing," he tells me over the phone from Abu Dhabi, just after the last GP.
"A guy came in for a climbing lesson one day who worked for McLaren. He was looking for someone to do all the sports therapy work with the McLaren F1 drivers and asked if I'd be interested and it went from there.
"In all honesty I had no real interest at the time in F1, never watched it and here I am 18 years later!"
Arnall begin working with Mika Hakkinen before concentrating on Raikkonen, moving with the Finn across teams and disciplines including rally and Nascar before returning to F1 and Ferrari.
After 14 years working together, Arnall and Raikkonen know how to work with each other and also give each other enough space.
"For me he's great to work with ... what you see is what you get ... zero bullshit! Straight, honest to the core and a great sense of humour (that very few people really get to see)."
As Raikkonen's career has changed, so too have the demands on a driver over the years.
"Formula 1, in all honesty has become less physical," says the 43-year-old.
"At the start of a race now the cars are full of fuel so are around three to five seconds slower than in qualifying. We also have less downforce so cornering speeds are lower. There is more emphasis now on making the driver as light as possible.
"Muscle weighs four times as much as fat, because of this we focus more on cardio work, endurance, HIIT (high intensity interval work) functional and corrective work and less on pure strength work."
Primary goal is to keep the driver in one piece, he says.
A driver's diet has also slowly adapted. "Thankfully Kimi eats a healthy diet. We don't use a stupid number of supplements as I prefer to get good nutrition through the food," Arnall says.
But an important aspect of keeping Raikkonen track-ready is hydration.
"Fascia (connective tissue in the body) reacts very well to being fully hydrated and causes lots of problems when it's not. So I focus on making sure Kimi is well hydrated at all times," says Arnall.
"This is obviously more challenging in hotter or more humid environments but the advantage of working with someone that long is you know how their body works."
On race days, as the Ferrari sits in the garage, waiting for Raikkonen to take to the track, Arnall will be standing alongside. Just what is he doing at that point?
"I have the drinks bottle for the driver, cloth and cleaner for the visor, face towels, pockets full of everything I think I might need for the driver while he's in the car."
Outside of the garage the job Arnall does now has expanded from the early days of "just" being the masseur. "At the track it's more making sure Kimi only has to focus on driving the car. "I have a massage couch that follows me around the world as well as a full medical kit," he says.
"I look after all the team kit, helmets, overalls, gloves etc. Kimi prefers to keep using gloves and boots until they fall apart so I carry these with me in my carry-on luggage everywhere so they don't go missing, get given away etc."
Arnall also works with the marketing team to make sure Raikkonen is "in the right place at the right time". "I also help make arrangements for friends and family who come to the races in terms of passes, pick-ups etc so Kimi doesn't have to worry about it.
"I also book the majority of Kimi's travel to and from races and work with the hotels in advance to make sure we have everything we need when we arrive."
So, there must be downsides to the job?
"When the car is pants it can make the year drag a bit. But I can honestly say that the vast majority of my life in F1 has been really positive, even when the car isn't as competitive as you would want!
"So I'm lucky to do something I really enjoy! Life is what you make of it, can't see the point of being negative ... If you don't like what you do you should try and change it."
Like all people in F1, life is a constant travelogue, non-stop for more than eight months of the year, so where is home?
"It's 38,000 feet."
That nomadic, often singular lifestyle, can crush many a relationship.
"I have a girlfriend. She runs her own hotel consultancy company and that allows her to travel to quite a few of the races with me which keeps our relationship alive. F1 is a killer in that department.
"We've worked hard to create a life situation that allows us to still manage to spend a lot of time together."
The final word goes to Arnall after I asked him if there was anything he would like to comment on. "To quote Kimi Raikkonen, 'No'."
Thanks Momo, a very nice article. And nice to know now a bit more from the good Mark. The part with "Kimi is wearing gloves and boots untill they fall apart" made me chuckle Mark is all the time smiling when we saw him in Monaco or during the testing. You see he is happy with his job. There must be a very good relationship between Kimi and Mark, otherwise they would not work so close together since so many years.
Ferrari notes ‘a huge change’ in Raikkonen By Chris Medland, 14/12/2015 at 14:38
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says Kimi Raikkonen has undergone “a huge change” and can deliver a “phenomenal” 2016 season.
Raikkonen returned to Ferrari in 2014 but had a disappointing year as he finished in 12th place in the drivers’ championship having been unhappy with the handling of the F14-T. This year’s car has suited Raikkonen much better and he secured fourth in the standings behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the final race of the season.
Speaking at the Ferrari Christmas press conference, Marchionne says he is encouraged by the improvement he has seen from Raikkonen.
"If I can give you some encouraging information, it's that I have seen a huge change in Kimi during the season," Marchionne is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "The second half was much better than the first, it was like watching a movie - where the second bit is better than the first.”
And Marchionne believes Raikkonen’s family life has had a major part to play in making him more focused on his work with Ferrari.
"We were talking with some of our colleagues over the past three or four days, and we are beginning to look at a different Kimi. The fact he is married with a kid - he showed me a picture because he is a proud father - is also reflective of the changes in his own life.
"He is becoming a lot more settled, which I think will be helpful in 2016. I think he will be the most engaged we have seen him the last little while. I am delighted he is part of the team. We have two drivers and they do compete.
"It happened to Seb, he has had a phenomenal year in his first year, and I am expecting that Kimi will rise up to the challenge and have a phenomenal season in 2016. I think he can. He is a good kid."
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Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:34 pm (Last edited: Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:35 pm)
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