For anyone following Formula 1 over the past decade, Kimi Raikkonen has been the biggest game in town as far as Finnish drivers are concerned. Mika Hakkinen passed the baton on, and Heikki Kovalainen tried his best to snatch it away, but - almost in spite of himself - Raikkonen has remained etched in the consciousness of single-seater fandom as the Finnish superstar.
His particular brand of searing speed, monosyllabic speech and wild off-track partying has imbued him with a unique anti-hero status in F1 folklore. In this age of clean-cut corporate sensitivities, it's probably no surprise that anyone even remotely professing to be the natural heir to James Hunt should prove so enduringly popular with F1 fans. But that aura requires sustenance; it can only remain alive for so long in the absence of on-track derring-do.
Unfortunately for Raikkonen, that was in short supply last year - he endured his worst-ever campaign as an F1 driver, just as a recently arrived, fresh-faced, phenomenally fast Finn enjoyed a breakout season of his own. While Raikkonen spent 2014 wrestling his recalcitrant Ferrari (and being beaten by Fernando Alonso), Valtteri Bottas confidently rode the crest of a wave that carried the proud Williams team back towards the front of the F1 grid.