Why relaxed Raikkonen will star in 2019

Moving from frontrunning Ferrari to a midfield team at the age of 39 is unusual for a driver with such a hugely successful track record as Kimi Raikkonen's. Put that to the man himself, and he doesn't initially bite.

"I don't follow what other people do," is the typically Kimi response. But he builds on that by pointing out that his genuine desire to keep going, even in an Alfa Romeo team that's likely to be further down the grid, is at the heart of his bulletproof popularity with the F1 fanbase. You can tell he appreciates the fact that people get what he's about.

"Hopefully not lower down [the grid]," he says. "Obviously that's what we expect in the beginning but the aim is to try to go forward. At least the reasons are right for me. For the rest, I don't care if it's right for somebody else - it's not really any interest of mine.

"I would not sign a contract if I didn't think it was something that I will enjoy and want. Formula 1 is a small part of my life but it takes over your time. In the end it's sport: if you do well, great; if you do bad, then it's not the end of your life.

"But I'm here because I enjoy racing. It's a different challenge with a team that wants to get better and bigger, and hopefully I have something to give them."

What the printed word doesn't convey is how relaxed Raikkonen appears to be in his new surroundings. While he's talking on a 'day off' during testing, as Alfa Romeo team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi puts in the mileage, it was a similar story at the track on days when he was pounding round.

At Ferrari, it was difficult to spot anything other than the worst of Kimi - diffident, staccato answers that kept most of him shrouded. But, in his new environment, his character can shine through a little more. He's never going to be an ebullient, perma-grinned Daniel Ricciardo type, but he's clearly able to be more himself in this team.

It's the first time we've seen Raikkonen in a smaller operation since his first season with what was then called Sauber in 2001. Stints at McLaren, Ferrari, 'Enstone' Lotus and Ferrari again - along with a two-year absence while he took on the World Rally Championship - have always cast him as one of the aces.

"Of course, the team is close to my heart, but the only reason that I came is because I believe I can do a good job here" Kimi Raikkonen

Now he's a big name in a team in the tight midfield pack, returning to the squad that gave him his unlikely big break fresh out of Formula Renault UK in 2001 at a time when an influx of resources and a manufacturer facelift mean it's firmly on an upward curve.

Ferrari and Alfa Romeo may be closely linked, but they are dramatically different teams. Raikkonen has moved from an Italian operation employing not far off 1000 people to a Swiss one - one he can cycle to from home - with around 400 personnel and one third of the budget.

His job hasn't really changed - it's still about driving the car as quickly as possible, interacting with engineers, attending sponsor events and the countless other demands. But the team culture is different and, spared the unique stresses and politics of Ferrari, he's clearly more at home.

"The team is different, but in the end the work is not really different because everyone is trying to achieve the same end results in slightly different ways," he says.

"We have less people, so there are differences. I've been in teams that are in different countries. Obviously there's a difference - different countries have different ways, how they deal with each other. That's probably the biggest difference. If you go from English team to English team, it's similar.

"It's also the people. That's something where you see where you are a bit behind because you don't have that many people doing certain things. So I guess that's a bit different, but it's also interesting."

The idea of Raikkonen joining Sauber a few years ago would have seemed fanciful. The team was teetering on the edge of oblivion prior to being bought by Longbow Finance in 2016, and even after that nearly lost all 'Column 2' prize money when it was almost beaten by Manor in the constructors' championship.

While Raikkonen is eager to keep racing, the quality of the team is part of the appeal. Going into a stagnant midfield operation is one thing, going into an upwardly mobile one that is growing and was in a position to win races just a decade ago is something different.

"A couple of years ago, it was almost the end of the story for Sauber so it's nice to see that it's got much better and they've improved much of what they've done," says Raikkonen of the attraction of his move to Alfa Romeo.

"Now they have strong backing and they have something to build on because they don't have to worry about tomorrow, they can pay the bills. I've been in teams like this - it's unfortunate that it doesn't work, that there's no future.

"It's good everybody's happy because it's a new life for them and they have a good chance to do well. Everyone's gone through a pretty hard time in three years.

"That I started here is obviously not the reason that I came here, but it's a nice side story. Of course, the team is close to my heart, but the only reason that I came is because I believe I can do a good job here."

The point about the team being solvent is an important one. Raikkonen alludes to his frustrating time at Lotus (now Renault) in 2012 and '13, when a team that was achieving great things was torn apart thanks to a lack of cash. He's signed a two-year deal with Alfa and has firmly committed to the cause of helping the team climb up the grid. He knows that the progress made here won't be squandered.

Much has changed at Sauber in Raikkonen's absence, but there are some staff from 2001 that still remain at Hinwil. So much has happened to Raikkonen that his year as a fresh-faced wunderkind back then must feel like a lifetime away. You can't blame him for struggling to remember, but the heart of the team remains.

"It's hard to remember that far away," he laughs when asked if it feels like the same team that gave him his break. "It was a much smaller team, a lot less people than there are now. It was my first year so I don't remember that well but there are some of the same people.

"When I go to the factory, it's bigger now and they have a big windtunnel, but the feeling is still very similar to the first time. And there are people here that I've worked with in other teams as well."

The question is: what can Raikkonen achieve this year? Alfa Romeo started testing brightly, and is emphatically in the tightly packed midfield group, even if it's closer to the middle of that group of half a dozen teams than to the front. Testing suggests the midfield fight is so tight that there's plenty of scope for Alfa Romeo to move forward.

Raikkonen's experience will be of paramount importance, but he'll need to be at his best on Saturday afternoons because the regular small mistakes that cost him last season could make a difference of three rows rather than a place or two - given how congested it is.

He looks relatively happy in the car, which doesn't seem the most stable - the rear isn't always well-behaved - but it does appear responsive at the front end.

Last season, Raikkonen was focused on getting back on top of the podium, which he did late in the campaign at Austin. With the midfield so amorphous, it's more difficult to set an objective in 2019.

"It's very difficult to say," he says when asked for his personal targets for the season.

"But I think we should be about OK. Not at the top of the times, but compared to where we were last year we are much better and we have the parts to improve it more. I want to do as well as I can but I don't know what the end result will be. Perhaps we can have some very strong races and fight at the front. We'll see."

"I didn't want to leave and just say, 'Forget it, I'm off'. They got a very good deal out of it" Raikkonen on his 2001 Sauber exit

Realistically, Alfa Romeo looks to have the foundation to have the chance to challenge for the same fourth place in the constructors' championship it took last time Raikkonen was there. The symmetry is appealing - that this feted F1 driver can bookend his career by taking a smaller team to some glorious results is an irresistible story.

"The people that made the biggest difference in my racing is family," says Raikkonen when asked how important the Sauber team has been to his story.

"They start you off and everybody is involved in discussions. To get to F1, or any racing cars, first it was my management - Steve and Dave Robertson. Unfortunately, Dave has passed away but they made the biggest thing and somehow managed to convince Peter Sauber to give me three days of testing straight away [out of Formula Renault].

"Then, somehow, it came to be that he gave us the car free of charge! If that hadn't happened, all of these things would probably never have followed.

"Sauber gave me a place in the first year, so it's a massive part of why we are here today. Without that, it would be a completely different story. It was nice to see Peter at testing, and I'm happy to be back.

"Hopefully I can help because, even if the name is different, it's still the same team."

One aspect that amuses Raikkonen is that his departure for 2002 proved to be an unexpected investment in his own distant future.

When McLaren poached him from Sauber to replace Mika Hakkinen - who was initially taking a year off before confirming his F1 retirement - the extra cash allowed Sauber to invest in its facilities.

The result was the state-of-the-art windtunnel that is still the centrepiece of the team today, and which was one of the reasons why BMW was willing to buy a team located in the inconvenient environs of Switzerland.

"We have a good windtunnel because of the way it ended last time," explains Raikkonen.

"I had a three-year contract with Sauber but it ended up being one year. I didn't want to leave and just say, 'Forget it, I'm off', so there was a lot of talk between McLaren and Mercedes and Peter and Steve and Dave.

"They got a very good deal out of it and that's a reason the relationship stayed good. It was good for both of us and now we're back."