Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (born October 17, 1979) is the 2007 Formula One World Champion, who capped off his Grand Prix career in 2021 with 21 race wins and 103 podiums from 349 starts.
F1 Career and World Championship
“The Iceman” began his Formula One career in 2001 with Sauber-Petronas, notably with only a single season of car racing under his belt. He was signed by McLaren-Mercedes the following year and immediately finished the season second overall behind Michael Schumacher, and repeated the feat again two years later when he was runner-up behind Fernando Alonso. Räikkönen joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2007 after Schumacher’s first retirement and won the world title that same year. Ferrari announced the Finnish driver’s departure at the end of 2009, and Räikkönen left the sport after failed negotiations for a McLaren return.
Return to F1
After two years of competing in the World Rally Championship and two NASCAR races, Räikkönen returned to Formula One in 2012 with Lotus and immediately resumed notching up wins and podium finishes including his famous “leave me alone I know what I’m doing” race. 2014 marked a second stint at Scuderia Ferrari that lasted until 2018, before returning to Sauber under the Alfa Romeo guise for the final three years of his Formula One career. Räikkönen is the only driver to have won races in the V10, V8, and turbo hybrid V6 eras.
TAG Heuer
The Iceman became a TAG Heuer ambassador in 2002 as a McLaren driver, and has had an active role in developing watches and eyewear. His affiliation with the Swiss brand continued into his first stint with Ferrari, and included the release of the Formula 1 Grande Date Chronograph Kimi Räikkönen Limited Edition with a steel bracelet (ref. CAH1014.BA0854) or two-tone rubber strap (ref. CAH1014.BT0718) to celebrate his 2007 Formula One World Championship title.
Richard Mille
Richard Mille began a partnership with Alfa Romeo in 2018, and celebrated Räikkönen’s arrival to the team in 2019 with the Richard Mille RM 50-04 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Kimi Räikkönen. With a limited edition of only 30, the timepiece made its debut at the Singapore Grand Prix of that year.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mui97tlrs1s
https://www.europastar.com/news/1003716032-contract-extention-between-the-swiss-watchmaking.html
https://masterhorologer.com/2008/05/08/tag-heuer-new-formula-1-grande-date-chronograph-kimi-raikkonen-limited-edition/
https://www.prestigeonline.com/id/style/watches/richard-mille-pays-homage-to-kimi-ra%CC%88ikko%CC%88nen-and-the-alfa-romeo-racing-team/
https://www.luxuo.com/style/watches/rm-50-04-tourbillon-split-seconds-chronograph-kimi-raikkonen-debuts-for-f1-night-race.html