Topic: Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (Finnish pronunciation: ; born October 17, 1979 in Espoo), nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing and rally driver. After a nine season career in Formula One, in which he took the 2007 Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he will now take part in the World Rally Championship for the Citroën Junior Team.

Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001. Having previously only raced in very junior open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after a performance delivery promise from his team boss, Peter Sauber. He joined McLaren Mercedes in 2002, and became a title contender by finishing runner-up in the 2003 and 2005 championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively.

Switching to Ferrari in 2007, Räikkönen became the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year, in part because the previous highest paid driver Michael Schumacher had retired. In turn his move to Ferrari saw him secure his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship, beating McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point. After two more years with Ferrari, he was dropped in favour of Alonso and will take a sabbatical for the 2010 season.