How Raikkonen finally ended his win drought
Kimi Raikkonen's second stint at Ferrari has been characterised by dropping the ball at key moments and costing himself chances to win races. At Austin he passed every test to end a wait of more than 100 races to return to the top of the podium
"Finally," said Kimi Raikkonen after ending a run of 111 starts without a victory by winning the United States Grand Prix. He prefaced that word with a much stronger one, revealing frustration over his long drought that matched the feelings of those underwhelmed by his inability in recent years to string together race-winning performances when he had the pace and opportunity to do so.
But at Austin, Raikkonen drove faultlessly and unexpectedly stole the thunder of Lewis Hamilton, whose coronation as a five-time champion was delayed for at least one more week. Raikkonen held a decent, but not dominant, hand at the start of the race that he had to play to perfection in the critical moments to come out on top. This was a race many drivers might have won and not only Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who flashed across the line in the Ferrari's wake.
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