The fastest driver of the 21st century. And quite possibly, the most unlucky. This genius should be a 3x World Champion. 2 world titles, lost, due to McLaren's unreliability during the tyre war.
On the old Speed Network David Hobbes would say a "piano fell from the sky... poor old Kimi Raikkonen if he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all."
The fastest man in the world necessarily had to be the Ice Man. Because i would have been beyond annoyed after so many DNFs and would start punching people around. Yet Räikkönen always stayed cool as ice. Which actually makes his Suzuka 2005 win even more amazing and bittersweet to the point where it has never been duplicated ever again up to now. Its not the fact that he won from the far back alone, which is amazing in itself. Meaning, the win alone isnt it because Alonso also deserves massive respect for getting third despite starting from 16th but its nothing compared to Räikkönen. Its because he won from the far back (because of the penalty, 17th was last place even) combined with the fact that he kept the chances of McLaren alive to win the WCC (because Montoya said "I am going to sleep"), he kept his cool while going God-Mode and especially (the most important part) absolutely dominated after so many DNFs and penalties because of the unreliable car. Especially that race made clear how fast Räikkönen actually was when the car worked. I think all of that is what makes his Suzuka 2005 domination amazingly special to this day. No wonder Ron Dennis was trying to hold back his tears in an interview when Räikkönen won. I would cry as well. Manly tears boy.
Mercedes really did make miserable engines back in the day. Absolutely appalling. McLaren weren't innocent by any means, but there wasn't too much they could do.
The most brutal DNFs are 8:57 and 17:30 imo Nurgburgring 03 cost him the title and hockenheim 04 he couldve definitely won that race. He was so fucking fast
With 2003 and 2004 I feel like Raikkonen was always fighting an uphill battle so when he lost the title, there was still a sense of accomplishment because that McLaren was not a championship winning car However, 2005 hurts me so bad. The mp4/20 is one of my favourite cars and was an utter beast so when that title slipped away it was gutting
Your delusional if you think Raikkonen could genuinely beat Schumacher with that Ferrari. The only driver who could beat him with a much slower car was Alonso and would've achieved this feat at the Belgian Grand Prix had it not been for the oil leak.
@@Sepsiscism you’re joking right? 🤔 Raikkonen lost the 03 title by 2 points in a car in which he took 1 win versus Schumacher’s 6 - I think you’re the delusional one here buddy Alonso didn’t stand a chance until he got the much quicker car in 2005 and 2006
Kimi was quicker than MSC was by the tyre war on the Michelins - Alonso was slower than Trulli in 2004, pathetically. Kimi had to switch to a new team and new tyre in 2007, which makes the comparison pointless. Had Michael switched to Michelin tyres in 2005 and joined McLaren, Kimi would have obliterated him. Alonso couldn't even beat Trulli or win a race in 2004, in a rocketship Renault. Renault thought Fisichella was going to beat Fernando, given how poor Alonso was on the Michelins in 2004. Regarding the Belgian GP, Kimi would have easily passed Alonso in Spa 2004 with or without Alonso stupidly spinning on his own oil twice! Alonso spared himself getting posterized by Kimi in that race! @@Sepsiscism
Raikkonen is far superior to Leclerc despite Kimi being far unluckier as this video proves. Raikkonen won a title in 2007 despite having more DNFs than both McLaren drivers in a car that was opposite to Kimi's amazing driving style on tyres Kimi had not driven on at McLaren. Leclerc is just a worse driver than Kimi, obviously. So the bar is lower for Charles.@@Sepsiscism
@@Sepsiscism If Hamilton was a better driver he would not have driven to the gravel in China, Räikkönen didn't fluke nothing, just the best driver in the world in the 2000s.
Crazy amount of failures. What's odd is that after Kimi left the mercedes engine and McLaren suddenly became bulletproof? In 2007 not a single engine failure from memory and 2008 think only Kovalinen had one at japan?
Had Mercedes engines and the suspension/bodywork parts been half as reliable as they were during 2014-20…we’d be looking at a three time World champion with Michael and Fernando only having 6 and 1 respectively.
He beat Massa in 2007 and 2009, Alonso got fired in 2014 and he was nearly 40 when he faced Seb by the end of 2018. Cheers. None of those drivers are quicker than peak McLaren Kimi on the Michelins. @@barcafan94
@@ciaronsmith4995 Alonso and Vettel are better drivers. Your fanboyism is pathetic. Just accept the fact that Slowkonnen is not as good as you would like and move on.
@@barcafan94 So put the source/vid where we can see him cry ? I think he's one of the very few drivers who never cried. Not even after he won the title, not once he cried.
I swear I blocked most of this out of my memory. Leclerc fans , watch this video and you will understand the true meaning of pain. But Kimi says he has no regrets and that's more than enough for me.
@@ciaronsmith4995 mad to think Kimi could've at least won 3 times in 2006. 2 of them being in Bahrain and Monaco when the McLaren was well off the pace. Wasn't until Germany really it closed the gap to the Ferraris and Renaults
u were the one who sparked my interest towards f1 and kimi raikkonen and now u just ban me from every discord server because im asking too many questions
I do agree he is the most unlicky F1 driver he should have won 4 championships and yes I am also saying he should of won the 2008 championship so yeah.
Not at all. Kimi had more DNFs that both Alonso and Lewis in 2007, down to car failure, and didn't like the car at all. Kimi deserved 2003, 2005 and 2007. Watch 2007. Kimi was by far the unluckiest of the top 3. McLaren had an illegal car with perfect reliability. He's the fastest driver I've seen at his peak since Senna.
Yes extremely lucky. Hamilton was leagues better as a rookie already and Alonso drove better too with a team that was fully against him. Alonso schooled Slowkonnen with a weaker car in 2005 and 2006 and Massa put manners on him too in 2008 and early 2009 pre accident
Raikkonen is the fastest driver of his era, particular in the tyre war. Hamilton was nowhere as a rookie in comparison, just had a super reliable McLaren which he managed to crash in a pitlane and the huge advantage of prior knowledge of the Bridgestones. Don't make me laugh.@@Sepsiscism
@@ciaronsmith4995 Bro, you're desperate. He had one more DNF than Ham/Alo. If Ham joined McLaren one year later or if Kovalainen joined instead of Alonso Raikkonen would stand no chance. And for what it's worth both peak Schumacher and peak Verstappen are faster than peak Raikkonen.
Oh so what about 86? You meant that Hungary 87 while the wheel nut came off leading was not bad luck? Portugal 1991 pitstop? And so many more. Unluckiest driver so far. Kimi cames close, but not even the same @@ciaronsmith4995
@@ciaronsmith4995 I'll watch the video to find out about the first part although the second part of your statement is ridiculously inaccurate. 2015 the best driver was vettel , followed by alonso hamilton and verstappen. 2016 and 17 the best alonso , so his form went nowhere jus the mclaren car was utter shit
He is already too lucky to drive a McLaren car in only his 2nd season. And he was chosen ahead of his teammate Nick Heidfeld who finished ahead of him. Yet Lewis Hamilton is still the luckiest F1 driver who started his career on a super car, and didn't have to wait to get a super car like MSC, Alonso, Button.
Get real, son. Kimi was the most inexperienced rookie in F1 history. Heidfeld was in his 2nd season in 2001 and already slower than rookie Kimi in the races in 2001. Nick lost to Montoya in F3000 too. It was an easy decision to pick the super rookie who had not seen any of the tracks before! Fastest man in the world!
@@ciaronsmith4995 1 season difference of experience is not significant. Heidfeld was a better driver in 2001 and overall at the same talent level as Raikkonen.
It's massive given Nick had multiple years of junior experience too (losing to Montoya in F3000). Kimi is the most inexperienced driver of all time. From Formula Renault (equivalent of Formula 4) to F1 in 23 races. That is unheard of to this day. And still faster than Heidfeld in the races at tracks Kimi never saw? That's called a generational driver. Heidfeld said a ROOKIE Kimi had the best race pace of any teammate he ever had. Imagine McLaren Kimi (bye Nick!). Alonso meanwhile was no faster than Trulli. Yikes.@@barcafan94
@@ciaronsmith4995 We saw how much of the speed of "McLaren Kimi" was the car and how much was the driver when he was barely quicker than Massa in 2007 and got destroyed in 2008, as he would have been in 2009 before Felipe got injured. Everyone can be fast in a Newey rocketship, even Perez nowadays looks like a top driver. True generational drivers are the ones who shine in slow cars and put them in places they shouldn't be by driving them consistently to the absolute limit. Alonso in 2010 and 2012 and Schumacher in 1995, 1997 and 1998 are perfect examples of that. Alonso won with a far slower car against your idol in 2005 and made him look like an F2 driver in the same car in 2014. At 42 years old, he is fighting Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc and the rest of the younger drivers, while your god was barely keeping up with Giovinazzi. Kimi is overrated and at the tier of Button, Rosberg and Massa. Alonso and Schumacher are a different tier. Sadly, facts don't care about your feelings. Raikkonen lost to every single decent teammate he had. The only teammates he didn't lose to once were Giovinazzi and Grosjean 😂 this shows what his real level was.
0 context. 0 intelligence. 0 credibility. Each of your comments proves you know nothing about F1. Kimi had to adapt to new tyres and a new team, Massa had half a decade of experience on. He still beat Massa and won the title, which is simpy unheard of in those conditions. Then Ferrari played politics in 2008 as everyone knows.@@barcafan94
That title is cringe. Alonso was wayy more unlucky than Raikkonen ever was. Even drivers like Webber, Fisichella, Trulli & Barrichello from that era were more unlucky than Raikkonen
The fastest driver of the 21st century.
And quite possibly, the most unlucky.
This genius should be a 3x World Champion. 2 world titles, lost, due to McLaren's unreliability during the tyre war.
On the old Speed Network David Hobbes would say a "piano fell from the sky... poor old Kimi Raikkonen if he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all."
“A few people laughed, a few people cried, car’s reliability was silent in most races.”
-Mclarenheimer 2002-2006
aside from the reliability problems, the early 2000's were such an amazing era in F1
The fastest man in the world necessarily had to be the Ice Man. Because i would have been beyond annoyed after so many DNFs and would start punching people around. Yet Räikkönen always stayed cool as ice.
Which actually makes his Suzuka 2005 win even more amazing and bittersweet to the point where it has never been duplicated ever again up to now. Its not the fact that he won from the far back alone, which is amazing in itself. Meaning, the win alone isnt it because Alonso also deserves massive respect for getting third despite starting from 16th but its nothing compared to Räikkönen.
Its because he won from the far back (because of the penalty, 17th was last place even) combined with the fact that he kept the chances of McLaren alive to win the WCC (because Montoya said "I am going to sleep"), he kept his cool while going God-Mode and especially (the most important part) absolutely dominated after so many DNFs and penalties because of the unreliable car.
Especially that race made clear how fast Räikkönen actually was when the car worked.
I think all of that is what makes his Suzuka 2005 domination amazingly special to this day. No wonder Ron Dennis was trying to hold back his tears in an interview when Räikkönen won. I would cry as well. Manly tears boy.
It feels weird giving this video a thumbs up
As much as hate the Monaco Grand Prix, I love the old pit lane, complete with the trees and narrow area 👌🏻
Mercedes really did make miserable engines back in the day. Absolutely appalling. McLaren weren't innocent by any means, but there wasn't too much they could do.
Same for BMW though, the German engines were monstrously powerful but made of glass
The most brutal DNFs are 8:57 and 17:30 imo
Nurgburgring 03 cost him the title and hockenheim 04 he couldve definitely won that race. He was so fucking fast
With 2003 and 2004 I feel like Raikkonen was always fighting an uphill battle so when he lost the title, there was still a sense of accomplishment because that McLaren was not a championship winning car
However, 2005 hurts me so bad. The mp4/20 is one of my favourite cars and was an utter beast so when that title slipped away it was gutting
Your delusional if you think Raikkonen could genuinely beat Schumacher with that Ferrari. The only driver who could beat him with a much slower car was Alonso and would've achieved this feat at the Belgian Grand Prix had it not been for the oil leak.
@@Sepsiscism you’re joking right? 🤔 Raikkonen lost the 03 title by 2 points in a car in which he took 1 win versus Schumacher’s 6 - I think you’re the delusional one here buddy
Alonso didn’t stand a chance until he got the much quicker car in 2005 and 2006
@@SepsiscismDid you watched Kimi 2003 ?
Kimi was quicker than MSC was by the tyre war on the Michelins - Alonso was slower than Trulli in 2004, pathetically. Kimi had to switch to a new team and new tyre in 2007, which makes the comparison pointless. Had Michael switched to Michelin tyres in 2005 and joined McLaren, Kimi would have obliterated him. Alonso couldn't even beat Trulli or win a race in 2004, in a rocketship Renault. Renault thought Fisichella was going to beat Fernando, given how poor Alonso was on the Michelins in 2004. Regarding the Belgian GP, Kimi would have easily passed Alonso in Spa 2004 with or without Alonso stupidly spinning on his own oil twice! Alonso spared himself getting posterized by Kimi in that race! @@Sepsiscism
this video is torture it should be flagged
And Charles Leclerc thinks he's so unlucky…
I mean it's not like he isn't unlucky
Not like this though, frankly. Nowhere close.@@clubpenguin13531
Still more unlucky than Raikkonen. He fluked a championship in 2007. Leclerc was sabotaged by Ferrari in 2022 for instance
Raikkonen is far superior to Leclerc despite Kimi being far unluckier as this video proves. Raikkonen won a title in 2007 despite having more DNFs than both McLaren drivers in a car that was opposite to Kimi's amazing driving style on tyres Kimi had not driven on at McLaren. Leclerc is just a worse driver than Kimi, obviously. So the bar is lower for Charles.@@Sepsiscism
@@Sepsiscism If Hamilton was a better driver he would not have driven to the gravel in China, Räikkönen didn't fluke nothing, just the best driver in the world in the 2000s.
I missed Imola 2004 quali failure! Unbelievable!
The 2002 season was kind of joke. He was rather more travelling than drive on the tracks
Whenever people say Leclerc is unlucky, I laugh because that's nothing compared to Kimi (and thinking about Kimi's bad luck makes me sad)
this video hurts my soul and makes me wanna cry
Crazy amount of failures. What's odd is that after Kimi left the mercedes engine and McLaren suddenly became bulletproof? In 2007 not a single engine failure from memory and 2008 think only Kovalinen had one at japan?
Because they changed their review processes at the end of 2006 according to Paddy Lowe. They were one of the most archaic on the grid. Kimi's luck!
Your memory is correct McLaren reliability became a lot better from 2007-09
I think Kimi spent more time on the back of that moped than he did on the track.
Back in those days when Mercedes engines were made of cotton wool
True but so many other failures too. Wheel nuts, driveshaft, rear wings etc.
Had Mercedes engines and the suspension/bodywork parts been half as reliable as they were during 2014-20…we’d be looking at a three time World champion with Michael and Fernando only having 6 and 1 respectively.
Nürburgring 2005 is something unreal.
2002 and 2004 were shocking in terms of reliability
So was 2005 frankly. The 10 place grid penalties were brutal.
Unluckiest driver ever is Chris Amon
Unluckier drivers:
Jules Bianchi
Aryton Senna
Basically any driver who died..
no@@GM_FtblA
i knew there was a lot but this is just appaling lol🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂
This video hurts
Ciaron, maybe you could make a vid about his race pace and explained about it in details
Hey mate, can we have the 2006 monaco video again ? it was so well made :(
Never heard Kimi cry like Leclerc.
He sure cried when he got absolutely demolished by Massa, Alonso and Vettel consecutively in Ferrari.
He beat Massa in 2007 and 2009, Alonso got fired in 2014 and he was nearly 40 when he faced Seb by the end of 2018. Cheers. None of those drivers are quicker than peak McLaren Kimi on the Michelins.
@@barcafan94
@@ciaronsmith4995 Alonso and Vettel are better drivers. Your fanboyism is pathetic. Just accept the fact that Slowkonnen is not as good as you would like and move on.
@@barcafan94 So put the source/vid where we can see him cry ?
I think he's one of the very few drivers who never cried. Not even after he won the title, not once he cried.
He did not cry. That guy is a troll. He is anti Kimi because he realized Kimi was faster than his idol Alonso.@@petel7418
I swear I blocked most of this out of my memory. Leclerc fans , watch this video and you will understand the true meaning of pain.
But Kimi says he has no regrets and that's more than enough for me.
The Iceman.
The most famous Finn ever.
No idea why he was sent back out at the Turkish GP in 2006. Was clearly not safe as the rear of the car was visibly terminally damaged.
I am 100% with you.
@@ciaronsmith4995 mad to think Kimi could've at least won 3 times in 2006. 2 of them being in Bahrain and Monaco when the McLaren was well off the pace. Wasn't until Germany really it closed the gap to the Ferraris and Renaults
@@CammyTheSportsEntertainerBahrain had he not had the failure in qualifying you’re right I’m sure he would have won
what a way to crush an already broken heart ciaron😭
Cant watch this. Hope you understand.
Kimi is probably the unluckiest driver I’ve seen since I started in 2001. It’s not even close actually.
You could argue Alonso had just as much bad luck as Kimi to missing out on 3 titles with a total of 8 points
No. You could not. Bad luck is not the same as driver error. Cheers.
I'm doing a painting of the @15:58 moment
u were the one who sparked my interest towards f1 and kimi raikkonen and now u just ban me from every discord server because im asking too many questions
I do agree he is the most unlicky F1 driver he should have won 4 championships and yes I am also saying he should of won the 2008 championship so yeah.
@LaF1dimenticata prossimo video su piloti sfigat
He is lucky to have won that one championship in 2007. It only happened due to Hamilton and Alonso taking points off each other
That's what happens in a title battle when different competitors have around equal machinery
Not at all. Kimi had more DNFs that both Alonso and Lewis in 2007, down to car failure, and didn't like the car at all.
Kimi deserved 2003, 2005 and 2007. Watch 2007. Kimi was by far the unluckiest of the top 3. McLaren had an illegal car with perfect reliability. He's the fastest driver I've seen at his peak since Senna.
Yes extremely lucky. Hamilton was leagues better as a rookie already and Alonso drove better too with a team that was fully against him.
Alonso schooled Slowkonnen with a weaker car in 2005 and 2006 and Massa put manners on him too in 2008 and early 2009 pre accident
Raikkonen is the fastest driver of his era, particular in the tyre war. Hamilton was nowhere as a rookie in comparison, just had a super reliable McLaren which he managed to crash in a pitlane and the huge advantage of prior knowledge of the Bridgestones. Don't make me laugh.@@Sepsiscism
@@ciaronsmith4995 Bro, you're desperate. He had one more DNF than Ham/Alo. If Ham joined McLaren one year later or if Kovalainen joined instead of Alonso Raikkonen would stand no chance.
And for what it's worth both peak Schumacher and peak Verstappen are faster than peak Raikkonen.
IT is NOT. NIGEL MANSELL is.
Now, go watch some F1 please. Thanks.
I am a Mansell fan, but Nigel binned it in '87 by himself. Enough.
Oh so what about 86? You meant that Hungary 87 while the wheel nut came off leading was not bad luck? Portugal 1991 pitstop? And so many more. Unluckiest driver so far. Kimi cames close, but not even the same
@@ciaronsmith4995
must be joking?? Its alonso at mclaren
Kimi had even more bad luck, and it cost him way more. Kimi was also way faster in this period than Alonso was in 2015.
@@ciaronsmith4995 I'll watch the video to find out about the first part although the second part of your statement is ridiculously inaccurate. 2015 the best driver was vettel , followed by alonso hamilton and verstappen. 2016 and 17 the best alonso , so his form went nowhere jus the mclaren car was utter shit
I was saying Kimi in this period (McLaren) was faster than Alonso at McLaren. Not 2015 Kimi. Hope that's clear.@@sunritroykarmakar4406
It is NOT at all.
He is already too lucky to drive a McLaren car in only his 2nd season. And he was chosen ahead of his teammate Nick Heidfeld who finished ahead of him. Yet Lewis Hamilton is still the luckiest F1 driver who started his career on a super car, and didn't have to wait to get a super car like MSC, Alonso, Button.
Get real, son. Kimi was the most inexperienced rookie in F1 history. Heidfeld was in his 2nd season in 2001 and already slower than rookie Kimi in the races in 2001. Nick lost to Montoya in F3000 too. It was an easy decision to pick the super rookie who had not seen any of the tracks before! Fastest man in the world!
@@ciaronsmith4995 1 season difference of experience is not significant. Heidfeld was a better driver in 2001 and overall at the same talent level as Raikkonen.
It's massive given Nick had multiple years of junior experience too (losing to Montoya in F3000). Kimi is the most inexperienced driver of all time. From Formula Renault (equivalent of Formula 4) to F1 in 23 races. That is unheard of to this day. And still faster than Heidfeld in the races at tracks Kimi never saw? That's called a generational driver. Heidfeld said a ROOKIE Kimi had the best race pace of any teammate he ever had. Imagine McLaren Kimi (bye Nick!). Alonso meanwhile was no faster than Trulli. Yikes.@@barcafan94
@@ciaronsmith4995 We saw how much of the speed of "McLaren Kimi" was the car and how much was the driver when he was barely quicker than Massa in 2007 and got destroyed in 2008, as he would have been in 2009 before Felipe got injured.
Everyone can be fast in a Newey rocketship, even Perez nowadays looks like a top driver. True generational drivers are the ones who shine in slow cars and put them in places they shouldn't be by driving them consistently to the absolute limit. Alonso in 2010 and 2012 and Schumacher in 1995, 1997 and 1998 are perfect examples of that.
Alonso won with a far slower car against your idol in 2005 and made him look like an F2 driver in the same car in 2014. At 42 years old, he is fighting Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc and the rest of the younger drivers, while your god was barely keeping up with Giovinazzi. Kimi is overrated and at the tier of Button, Rosberg and Massa. Alonso and Schumacher are a different tier. Sadly, facts don't care about your feelings. Raikkonen lost to every single decent teammate he had. The only teammates he didn't lose to once were Giovinazzi and Grosjean 😂 this shows what his real level was.
0 context. 0 intelligence. 0 credibility. Each of your comments proves you know nothing about F1. Kimi had to adapt to new tyres and a new team, Massa had half a decade of experience on. He still beat Massa and won the title, which is simpy unheard of in those conditions. Then Ferrari played politics in 2008 as everyone knows.@@barcafan94
That title is cringe.
Alonso was wayy more unlucky than Raikkonen ever was. Even drivers like Webber, Fisichella, Trulli & Barrichello from that era were more unlucky than Raikkonen
Not even close. Kimi is far unluckier than Alonso. Kimi was also far quicker in this era.
Kimi was more unlucky, specially during his first f1 stint. Alonso's bad luck only came recently
Calling Nigel Mansell to the chat. Alonso? LOL LMFAO
@@danigonzalez4299 Mansell?? Are you skunked? Don't be stupid kid