It was amazing to note in comments on this site that some had never seen Kimi Raikkonen smile, so it was time to destroy the myth that the Iceman never laughs or jokes for that matter.
Honestly, a smile of sorts was expected when he qualified on pole for the recent Monaco Grand Prix, but alas there was not even a hint of a curved lip.
Then 24 hours later it might have been expected (by the ignorant) that he would fling a smile as he was the rear-gunner in a very rare one-two for Ferrari at Monte Carlo. Wrong again, he was not a happy camper on the podium… but that’s another story.
So it was time to dig out Smiling Kimi images which are presented here, and you will note he smiled a lot in the early days of his career at Sauber, also at McLaren and in his championship year with Ferrari a decade ago.
Also seemed to be amused and jovial during his rally foray, and cracked some giggles during the Lotus years.
Although we found some smileys from his second Ferrari tenure, they are increasingly rare. And as yet have to discover a smiling Kimi 2017 version….
Also dug out some of the finest quotes from the man of few words:
Interviewer: “Kimi, you missed the presentation by Pele.”
Kimi : “Yeah.”
Martin: “Will you get over it?”
Kimi: “Yeah. I was having a shit.”
Interviewer: ”What makes TAG Heuer special?”
Kimi: “It’s OK.”
Interviewer: “What kind of a relationship do you have with Peter Sauber?”
Kimi: “He is my boss.”
“I read somewhere that I drive with the luck of a drunk.”
“Suddenly the steering wheel was in my hands. I tried to put it back on, but it was too late. I was just wondering where I was going to end up.”
“I’d rather be probably out of second and third place so I don’t have to go to the prize-giving.”
“Ah, go and interview Mikko Leppilampi. He likes to talk.”
Interviewer: “Is it true that sometimes you’re bored in the car?”
Kimi: “Only when I am in front by a country mile, like in Melbourne last year. Then you are thinking about other things or you’re playing with the buttons on the steering wheel.”
”I’m not interested in what people think about me. I’m not Michael Schumacher.”
”The interesting thing will be to see what the weather will do tomorrow. I lost my mirror during the final qualifying session but didn’t notice it, and it had no effect. Now we will see what happens in the race.”
“You don’t drive races on paper.”
“Driving is the only thing I love about F1.”
Interviewer: “The helmet has a special meaning for many drivers. How important is it to you?”
Kimi: “It protects my head.”
“The Constructor’s Championship doesn’t really mean anything to me.”
“Coulthard can say what he wants. I’m not interested in what he’s saying.”
“Montoya’s comments doesn’t interest me.”
“I’m not interested in what Jackie says. He hasn’t got anything to do with me.”
“Others can sit in the simulators if they want. I´m here to drive.”
Interviewer: “The most exciting moment during the race weekend?”
Kimi: “I think so it’s the race start, always.”
Interviewer: “The most boring?”
Kimi: “Now.”
Interviewer: ”Do you have any special rituals when the helmet is concerned like many have?”
Kimi: “I wipe it so that I can see better.”
When asked about how his yellow flag affected the other drivers:
Kimi: “I don’t care what happened to the others.”
“It’s all the same if it rains or not.”
“Ferrari’s own parties are the nicest. There are all the crew and their children. I don’t know exactly what I will do there. Maybe I will be Santa. Other parties are official and boring.”
Interviewer: “Kimi, what’s the 5th grid place like?”
Kimi: “It’s the 5th grid place.”
Interviewer: “What is your feeling before the race?”
Kimi: “It’s alright.”
Hungarian GP 2007:
Kimi: “Boring race.”
“My life would be much more easier had I been a f1-driver in the 70’s with the guys. I was definitely born in the wrong era.”
“I don’t give a damn about what Trulli says.”
”I’m not going to a language school to learn Italian, that’s not what I came to do at Ferrari.”
”If there’s a red light when you leave the pitlane you have to stop. Then some wooden eye [Lewis Hamilton] crashes into you and breaks the car.”
Talking about Michael Schumacher:
Kimi: “He doesn’t come and tell us drivers anything. And at least I don’t need his advice.”
Interviewer: “How does it feels to drive at 300 km/h?”
Kimi: “It feels normal.”
”I have not looked at what everyone else is doing and what teams are running, so we are just doing our own thing.”