Kimi Raikkonen Celebrates Record F1 Milestone in the Most Kimi Way Ever

Amidst all the hubbub of Lewis Hamilton’s record, there was one more driver celebrating a separate milestone. Going past Rubens Barrichello’s record of 322 starts, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen celebrated his 323rd start at the Eifel Grand Prix.

Starting off in the 2001 Australian GP, it has most certainly been a long time in F1 for Raikkonen. The veteran, of course, won the World Drivers’ Championship in 2007 with Ferrari.

And if speculation is to be believed, Kimi Raikkonen could further extend that record of 323 starts by a massive margin. That is, if he decides to continue with Alfa Romeo for one more season in the sport.

Kimi Raikkonen thankful for all the ‘support and cake’

Some drivers would prefer to celebrate a milestone with much more gaiety and fanfare. However, Raikkonen being Raikkonen, decided to go in a different direction.

With a simple picture of him cutting a cake, the Finn took to Instagram, “Yes I have been around for a while. Thanks for all the support and cake.”

It does seem like he has been around for a while, but Kimi races with the same amount of gusto that he displayed back when he first stepped into a Formula One car. Over the years, he has only gained that much experience.

He can boast of a great career, one that many drivers can only dream of. Of his 323 starts, he was won 21 races and 103 podiums, in addition to picking up several points finishes along the way.

He did not have the most eventful of races at the Nurburgring

Despite the special occasion, it was not exactly a race to remember for Kimi Raikkonen. Starting P16 after dropping some pace in qualifying, things did not look too rosy for Alfa Romeo.

But after making a decent start in the race and moving up into P11, he rear-ended Williams’ George Russell and that saw him earn a 10-second penalty for causing an ‘avoidable collision’ by the FIA.

Had he not received the penalty, he was on course for a points finish. Eventually, Raikkonen finished P12 in the race, just 0.6 seconds behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Nevertheless, he has been a great competitor in the pinnacle of the motor sport division. And he will hope that he can continue entertaining on and off the track for a few more years to come.