Kimi Raikkonen twice lost the world championship (in 2003 and 2005) because of the unreliability of the McLaren Mercedes. In 2007, he won the world championship because of the unreliability of the McLaren Mercedes.
This time, of course, Raikkonen was in a Ferrari, and a gearbox software fault on Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren cost the latter the title and handed it to the former in a thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix.
“I just felt like someone, somewhere, didn’t want me to win the title,” Hamilton said of time he lost coasting along with the gearbox stuck in neutral. “I’ve had a few tire problems. I made a mistake in the last race, and then something happened to me at the beginning today, but that’s racing.”
Raikkonen doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but he grinned widely after finally achieving the title that has twice eluded him. It took a while for the news to be confirmed.
Hamilton was running seventh and needed to be fifth to wrestle the championship back from Raikkonen who led the race.
The Ferrari driver was worried that cars in front of Hamilton would either have to make a pit stop or possible breakdown.
Even after Raikkonen crossed the finish line he had to wait for confirmation that he was the champ.
“There were people who needed to finish,” he said, “and we didn’t know 100 percent. So I was just really waiting and it took a long time to hear that we finally won. It’s amazing, after the last few races, being up and down, and we scored good points even in difficult situations.
“So it’s been a good finish of the season and great work from everybody. I’m very happy; it was an amazing day.”
An amazing day indeed.
“A dream that it seemed would be impossible to come true was transformed into reality at the end of a race which the drivers and the team managed superbly,” Ferrari’s Jean Todt said. “We had to get a one-two and then see what our main competitors could do.
“We needed a ‘helping hand’ from others, both those in the running for the title as well as those out of the running to bring home both titles.”
Raikkonen commiserated with Hamilton.
“For sure, I know that this hurts for Lewis,” he said, “because you’ve been working for a whole year and then when you lose it, it’s not a nice feeling. And it’s a long time before you can try to win it again or even get close. It was close but then that’s how it should be and we won in the end.”
Raikkonen says he is much happier at Ferrari than he was at McLaren.
“Thanks also to my parents, to my wife Jenni and everyone who believed in me,” he said. “I have achieved what I have been after for a long time. Now everything else will be an extra. This has been a very nice year for me, during which I have enjoyed F-1 like never before.
“In Ferrari, I have found a great family and I am proud to have won the title with them.”
Raikkonen goes into the history books as the first driver to win a championship for Ferrari in the post-Schumacher era.