Kimi Raikkonen now holds the record for most grand prix starts, but when he arrived in Formula 1 in 2001 with Sauber straight out of Formula Renault, it was his inexperience causing controversy.
Raikkonen’s F1 rookie season engineer Jacky Eeckelaert joins Glenn Freeman and Mark Hughes on our Bring Back V10s classic F1 stories podcast to relive that 2001 campaign.
As well as fascinating insight from Eeckelaert on Raikkonen’s driving in both his startling maiden test in 2000 and his first year of F1 racing, we discuss the machinations behind his rapid move to McLaren for 2002.
The battle for his services between McLaren and Ferrari is fully explored, as well as the other drivers who were in contention to replace Mika Hakkinen at McLaren – including one who was told the seat was his before Raikkonen was signed!
To find the show on your podcast provider of choice, search for ‘Bring Back V10s – classic F1 stories’.
– Listen via Apple Podcasts
– Listen via Spotify
