Kimi Raikkonen: The most important thing is that Robin loves racing

A week ago we talked about the quite successful debut of 9-year-old Robin Raikkonen in the world final of the Rotax Max Challenge karting series. During these competitions, attention increasingly focused on the family of the 2007 world champion, especially since Kimi himself performed the duties of a mechanic and worked on his son’s car.

Although the weekend did not go so smoothly for Robin, the young driver was still able to make a good impression, as after starting from 22nd position he took a respectable 5th place in the decisive race.

“We want to explore different options for next year, so we haven’t made any decisions yet,” said Räikkönen Sr. at the time. –
The most important thing is that Robin loves racing and loves karting, and we will continue as long as he feels like it.

Personally, I would prefer to stay at home, but Robin wants to race and I am happy that his wish is coming true. Moreover, we have a lot of fun together on the karting tracks!”

Mika Salo, a former Formula 1 driver with extensive experience working with young people, agrees with this approach.

“Robin is still very young, he has been able to participate in karting and actively train for a long time,” the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti Salo quotes. “He and Kimi love that they can do all this together. You always learn the most by racing. The most important thing you need to do is rack up the miles by racing in different series at that age.

The most talented young racers immediately attract attention; they always show excellent results no matter what class they compete in and what equipment they drive. If a man can drive a car on a race track, you can tell from an early age. The most important thing is that he is interested.

Personally, I started karting when I was 5 years old, and right away everything went very well for me, I won races all the time. When you compete and fight with guys from other countries, you build confidence in your own abilities.”