Appreciating The Iceman

by Tammy

I admit it, I used to think Kimi Raikkonen was a bit of a putz. No expression changes, ever. Seemingly bored by the whole Formula 1 thing, as proved by the fact that he ditched it to go rallying for a couple years (well, OK, he didn't get the contract he wanted, I assume). I mean, of course he could drive (and he wasn't as annoying as Alonso), but I didn't really care about him. But honestly? I've really enjoyed his return this year.

Why is that? I think it's simply that the audience has been having more fun with him. Because clearly, he hasn't changed at all....

Maybe it's that his new team, Lotus, is having fun with him (check out the Lotus F1 Team Facebook page for the evidence).

But the turning point for me was the radio transmissions from his winning run in Abu Dhabi, when he responded to his crew chief giving him updates with, "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing," and later, to a reminder to save the tires with, "Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm doing it all the time. You don't have to remind me every second." (Link to actual transmissions.)

But under that stoic face, he's got a sense of humor. BBC Sport reports that Kimi had 500 tee-shirts bearing the quote "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" delivered to his team. Further, he commented, "It's not the first time, and it's not the last. It's just a normal thing. People will probably try to make a big story out of it, but it happens every weekend."

So I say, let Kimi be Kimi, and enjoy him. And if you want to buy one of those tee-shirts, go "like" the image (also shown here) on the Lotus F1 Team page and maybe they'll produce and sell you one....

What do you think? Want a tee-shirt? Love or hate Kimi?