Kimi Raikkonen tests positive for COVID-19; to miss Dutch GP
Formula 1 | September 04, 2021 13:16 ISTAlfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen will miss the Dutch Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19.
Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen will miss the Dutch Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19.
Kimi Raikkonen will retire at the end of the season, concluding a career that spanned two decades and included the 2007 world championship.
Raikkonen, 41, had to pull over his Alfa Romeo after its rear got engulfed in flames.
41-year-old Raikkonen was the 2007 champion and this season became the driver with the most race starts. Next season will be his 19th in F1.
Raikkonen has now raced a total of 16,845 laps in his career and he went past Schumacher's mark, who had raced a total of 16,825 laps during the course of his illustrious career.
Alfa Romeo has unveiled the new Formula One car that will be piloted by former champion Kimi Raikkonen this season.
Raikkonen's most previous win had been with Lotus at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in 2013. He'd driven his Ferrari to three second-place finishes this season before Sunday's victory.
The 38-year-old Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One champion, is being replaced next season by 20-year-old Charles Leclerc.
Sebastian Vettel was nearly two seconds behind Raikkonen in ninth, but was using slower tires than his teammate.
Raikkonen, who won the 2007 Formula One title with Ferrari, will be heading back to Sauber from next season while Leclerc will take his seat alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Surprisingly, it was Kimi Raikkonen who edged his teammate and title hopeful Vettel in qualifying on Saturday to clinch only his second pole position in 10 years.
Raikkonen was .168 ahead of Hamilton and nearly a half second clear of the British driver's Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas.
The Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas — fastest in the first session — and defending champion Lewis Hamilton ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the second practice.
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was the second quickest in both sessions, and in the afternoon he was only 0.007 behind Hamilton.
Vettel was almost overtaken by Bottas on the last lap, but made a crucial blocking move and won by only 0.6 seconds.
World champion Lewis Hamilton could only manage fourth, and will start from ninth on Sunday after incurring a grid penalty.
Raikkonen and Vettel were up front as cooler temperatures and nightfall matched the conditions for Sunday evening's race. Raikkonen's time of 1 minute, 29.8 seconds on the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) desert circuit was a fraction quicker than Vettel's.
Raikkonen currently sits fifth in the driver's standings heading into this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite Ferrari's status as Formula One's richest and most popular team, it hasn't won a driver's championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
The Finish driver refused to give up on Ferrari's season and stressed that his team is still capable of clinching victories in remaining four races of the season.
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