McLaren are finally back on top in Formula 1 after more than 15 years without properly contending for both championships.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri led them to the constructors’ championship in 2024 – their first triumph since Lewis Hamilton’s maiden crown in 2008.
McLaren could have won a lot more than they did in the 2000s, but they were competing against the might of Ferrari for much of the decade.
They had to watch on as Kimi Raikkonen, who missed out on multiple chances for significant silverware with them, joined their Italian rivals and won on his first attempt in 2007.
Although Raikkonen ‘never said a thing’ in Formula 1 briefings, he did a lot of his talking out on track, where he managed to notch 21 victories.
David Coulthard says Raikkonen would’ve won multiple titles with Michael Schumacher’s work ethic, but part of the ‘Iceman’s’ fame came from his relaxed nature. It’s who Kimi was.
David Robertson said Kimi Raikkonen had two F1 titles ‘taken away’ by McLaren
Raikkonen defied the odds to overcome a 17-point deficit (back when a win received 10 points) with two rounds of the 2007 Formula 1 season to go to win the championship.
After years of coming close with McLaren but being denied by a rapid Ferrari, Renault or reliability, he had finally made it.
Fortunately, Raikkonen had a ‘massive’ advantage over his F1 rivals as he was able to forget about negative incidents quickly. He never held a grudge and got on with the job at hand.
READ MORE: Eddie Jordan suggests 34-year-old F1 driver should now take inspiration from Kimi Raikkonen
Speaking after his first title in 2007, his then-manager David Robertson said that he had two championships taken away from him at McLaren but didn’t state which years.
“Two championships have been taken away from Kimi,” Autosport reported that Robertson told Finnish TV channel MTV3. “He would be the youngest champion ever without McLaren’s reliability issues.
“He has still risen to the top, and we are very glad about that. But he should have three championships instead of one. He is an incredible talent.”
How did Kimi Raikkonen fare in Formula 1 after leaving McLaren in 2006?
Raikkonen’s Formula 1 story took a fairytale twist when he won the championship immediately after leaving McLaren in 2007.
It wasn’t without challenges on the way. Before Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari crash at Barcelona a few weeks ago, Raikkonen was the last new Ferrari driver to crash in winter testing.
It turned out to be a good omen for him, but after 2007, he struggled to find his best form again. In 2008, teammate Felipe Massa was stronger and nearly claimed the title before 2009 saw him decide to leave the sport altogether.
READ MORE: Ex-Ferrari president deliberately went over Michael Schumacher’s head to sign future world champion
He came back in 2012 with Lotus, winning two races with them before deciding to return to Ferrari in 2014. It took until 2018 for him to claim another victory with them before heading back to where his career started with Sauber from 2019 to 2021.
He wouldn’t return to the podium from there and sadly retired at the end of that season, making way for another Finn – Valtteri Bottas, to replace him.
