Kimi Raikkonen turns 30
The 2007 world champion will celebrate his 30th birthday on the Saturday of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. Here is a table which shows where he stands among the greats at their 30th birthday:
Driver Wins Poles Fastest laps Podiums Michael Schumacher 33 20 34 65 Fernando Alonso (*) 21 18 13 53 Ayrton Senna 21 42 13 44 Jim Clark 19 24 22 24 Kimi Räikkönen 18 16 35 62 Niki Lauda 17 24 16 39 Alain Prost 16 13 11 26 Emerson Fittipaldi 14 6 6 33 Stirling Moss 12 10 16 19 Lewis Hamilton (**) 11 16 3 26 (*) currently at 28 years, two months and 19 days (**) currently at 24 years, nine months and 11 days
Brazil personal scoreboard
The Interlagos circuit © LAT |
• Lewis Hamilton lived through opposite emotions in his two Brazilian Grands Prix: he lost the title to Raikkonen in 2007 by finishing seventh and won it last year finishing fifth after a last lap pass which secured him the position he needed. His best grid result is a second place in 2007. Hamilton has never spent a single lap in the lead in Brazil, and only ran as high as third for three laps last year during the refuelling stops.
• Heikki Kovalainen finished only last year out of his two starts in Brazil, taking two points in seventh place.
• Giancarlo Fisichella won here in 2003, his maiden grand prix win, and was second in 2000. His last points finish at Interlagos dates back to 2006, his second-last year with Renault, when he came home sixth.
• In the last six editions of the Brazilian GP Kimi Raikkonen was able to climb on the podium five times, winning the race and the world championship in 2007. The Finn started his last seven Brazilian GPs from a top five spot on the grid, but never from pole, his best qualifying position being a second place in 2006.
• Robert Kubica was able to score points only once out of three Brazilian Grand Prix starts, in 2007 with a fifth place.
• Nick Heidfeld claimed his maiden podium back in 2001 here, but after that race he was able to finish in the points only in 2007 with a sixth place. He counts four retirements out of eight starts. Heidfeld has always been quick at Interlagos, outpacing his team-mate in qualifying seven times out of eight, he was beaten only by Prost team-mate Jean Alesi in his debut year in 2000.
• Fernando Alonso has never won the Brazilian Grand Prix, but secured his two world titles there in 2005 and 2006. Since 2003 the Spaniard has always finished in the top four at Interlagos, with five podium placings - three thirds and two seconds.
• Jarno Trulli obtained his best result in 2000 with a fourth place, from then onwards he struggled, and was able to score only three points out of three eighth places, in 2003 and in the last two editions. This is in contrast with his qualifying performances, as he was able to start third in 2006 and second last year.
• Mark Webber is another who has had contrasting times in Brazil. In qualifying he has been able to record a clean sweep, beating his team-mates seven times, but in the races he was often a victim of bad luck and has yet to record a finish in the points. Webber retired four times straight from 2004 to 2007.
• Sebastian Vettel was fourth last year and was almost a deciding factor in the world championship as he overtook Hamilton in the final stages.
• Nico Rosberg's best qualifying position in Brazil is a 10th place scored in 2007. The German was able to score points only once, with a fourth place in 2007.
• Kazuki Nakajima made his Formula 1 race debut in Interlagos at 2007, finishing tenth.
• The Force India duo of Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi has yet to record a top ten finish at Interlagos after four total starts. Sutil's best result is a 16th scored last year, while Liuzzi finished 13th twice, in 2006 and 2007.
• Jenson Button was able to score one podium finish out of nine Brazilian Grands Prix, in 2006 with a third place starting from the 14th grid spot. The Briton recorded his last top 10 start in Brazil back in 2005.
• Nine mechanical failures and two accidents make Rubens Barrichello eligible for an all-time record of retirements in the same race, currently held by Andrea de Cesaris and Riccardo Patrese. De Cesaris retired twelve times from the Brazilian, British and San Marino Grands Prix, while Patrese was out of the finishing order twelve times in the British Grand Prix. Barrichello scored his only podium finish, third in 2004, after nine straight retirements in his home race.
Teams' performances in Brazil
• Ferrari won the last three editions of the Brazilian Grand Prix, recording the hat-trick of pole, fastest lap and victory in all cases. The Italian team is only one win shy of McLaren for Brazilian Grand Prix wins: ten to eleven.
• In the last three editions the best result for McLaren was a third place scored in 2007, its last win was in 2005 and to find the last pole we have to go even further, back in 2000 with Mika Hakkinen.
• BMW Sauber was able to score points at Interlagos only once, in 2007 with a fifth place by Kubica and a sixth by Heidfeld.
• Red Bull has never scored points in Brazil: its best result is a ninth place, obtained three times out of four, in 2005 and in the last two editions.
• The best result for Renault from 2003 onwards was always obtained by Alonso. When the Spaniard was not part of the team, in 2007, both Renaults retired.
• Vettel's fourth place last year is the only points finish for Toro Rosso out of three races run here.
• The best result for Toyota is a sixth place, obtained in its first season, 2002, and last year.
• Williams scored its last win to date in the Brazilian Grand Prix, in 2004 with Juan Pablo Montoya.
That was the last time...
20 years ago: Mauricio Gugelimin scored his only Formula 1 podium in Rio, a third place in his March-Judd behind Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. In the same race Ferrari raced its semi-automatic gearbox with shift paddles behind the steering wheel for the first time in Formula 1.
5 years ago: Rubens Barrichello scored his last pole to date at Interlagos, finishing third in the race.
Last year: Last win and pole to date for Felipe Massa.