Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo Racing in the Press Conference
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Opinion

Why F1's misunderstood party animal will thrive in retirement

Three years on from Kimi Raikkonen's last Grand Prix victory at Austin, he is now six races away from ending the longest Formula 1 career in history. His friend and former Ice1 Racing rally team PR man ANTHONY PEACOCK explains why there’s nobody quite like the 2007 world champion and why F1 will miss him (but he won’t miss it)

Don’t expect a fanfare in Abu Dhabi, or any grand curtain call designed to soak up two decades of accumulated Formula 1 glory. 
But do expect a small farewell party. It’s just that you won’t be invited.

Kimi Raikkonen, in a move which surprised almost nobody, finally announced his decision to retire at the beginning of September – although it’s something that he had settled on for nearly a year. And that’s why his announcement came almost as an afterthought, in the form of a somewhat laconic Instagram post that started off with: “This is it.”

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