Formula 1: Kimi Raikkonen slated to break all-time record
By Asher Fair
Kimi Raikkonen is slated to break a major all-time Formula 1 record in this Sunday’s Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
When this Sunday’s Eifel Grand Prix has been contested at the Nürburgring, Formula 1 is slated to have a new all-time most experienced driver.
Kimi Raikkonen is set to enter this race with 322 starts to his name over the course of his career, which dates back to 2001 but excludes 2010 and 2011 when he took two years away from the sport following his initial nine-year stint.
The 40-year-old Finn is now in his ninth season since returning to Formula 1 and his second with Alfa Romeo Racing.
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The 2007 world champion has competed in each of the first 10 races of the 2020 season, which got off to a late start as a result of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday, July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
He entered the year with 312 starts to his name after passing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for second place on the all-time starts list in the 2019 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. He trailed only Rubens Barrichello in this category, as Barrichello competed in 322 races from 1993 through 2011.
After the 53-lap Russian Grand Prix at the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia two Sundays ago, Raikkonen no longer trailed Barrichello.
After this Sunday’s 60-lap race around the 16-turn, 3.199-mile (5.148-kilometer) Nürburgring road course in Nürburg, Germany, that record is slated to belong solely to Raikkonen.
Will that record ever be broken once possessed by the Iceman?
Raikkonen is in a contract year with Alfa Romeo Racing, and it is uncertain what his future holds. Assuming he competes in each of the seven remaining races on this year’s 17-race schedule, he will end the season with 329 career starts.
As of right now, the next closest active driver to Raikkonen on the all-time starts list is six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has competed in 260 races since his career began back in 2007. That mark, which itself is the all-time record for consecutive starts, is 62 starts shy of Raikkonen’s mark, which comes out to right around three seasons of competition.
Hamilton, like Raikkonen, is also in a contract year, but he is also competing for Mercedes, the six-time reigning constructor and driver champions. He is as good as he has ever been, and he is on the verge of breaking Michael Schumacher’s all-time wins record of 91 and his all-time titles record of seven. He has won 90 races in his career and could very well tie the record this weekend.
Perhaps most importantly, he is more than five years younger than Raikkonen as well, having turned 35 on Tuesday, January 7. Raikkonen is set to turn 41 on Saturday, October 17. Hamilton sits in seventh place on the all-time starts list, having gained two positions since the start of the season.
Tune in to ESPN at 8:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, October 11 for the live broadcast of the Eifel Grand Prix from the Nürburgring to watch Kimi Raikkonen become Formula 1’s all-time most experienced driver.