Kimi Räikkönen: Mastering Speed in All Eras

The World Champion, at the wheel of Mercedes 300 SL number 417, teaches why driving a modern Formula 1 car and a vintage GT require vastly different techniques.

It had just stopped raining that Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps. Everyone was unsure whether to start with rain tires or soft slicks. There were still damp spots on the terrifying descent that, right after the start of the circuit in the Flanders region, leads to the feared Eau Rouge and Raidillon turns. Drivers did the formation lap, many with wet tires, others cautiously with dry ones. The cars’ wheels were covered with tire warmers until the last moment. When they were removed, everyone had switched to slick tires. In these still wet conditions, a cautious approach to Eau Rouge and Raidillon seemed likely. And so it was—except for one car: Kimi's red Ferrari, which sped down at full throttle and handled the treacherous turns as if the track were dry. His advantage in that first lap was enough to win him the race.

What happened? Unlike many of his colleagues, Kimi had tested the slippery section right after the start at almost full speed, knowing the grip would hold. And in the race, he proved it. That's what makes a champion.

Kimi Räikkönen on the Roarington simulator, driving the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Remembering this episode, there was a lot of curiosity about how Kimi would handle driving a Mercedes 300 SL at Spa-Francorchamps on the Roarington simulator. After the TCCT Forum, everyone headed for the simulators. No one dared to get in. Except him. He did it as if he were settling into a chair to watch TV. He started completely relaxed, almost with a smile, and drove the large, old '50s steering wheel with the lightness of a music conductor.

There was silence. Down to Eau Rouge and Raidillon, then through Blanchimont to complete the first lap without a wobble. Those watching the timer noted that he was 4.7 seconds faster than the previous record set in the same car. The curiosity was to understand how he did it. Observing closely, he calmly took the descent at full speed but, contrary to expectations, lifted off the accelerator before Eau Rouge, following a different line that allowed him to take the second turn almost straight, maximizing the engine's torque on the climb and avoiding the risk of losing power due to skidding.

At the TCCT Forum held at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, a rare chance to see a Formula 1 World Champion like Kimi Räikkönen behind the wheel.

As the lap continued, more tricks emerged: with the 1955 Mercedes 300 SL, the famous 417 that won the Mille Miglia in the Gran Turismo category, on narrow, hard tires as they were back then, and with a vehicle weight exceeding a ton, a different, calmer, and smoother driving style was required to go fast. It was his first, or at most his second, time using a Classic Car simulator, but the decision on how to drive was entirely his own. For him, it came naturally.

Just like that time at Mugello, where, never having driven a Formula 1 car before, a young Kimi, barely 20 years old, impressed Schumacher so much that he stopped in the pits to ask who that fast driver was. Asked by a World Champion, the answer could only be: that boy will become a real champion. And so it was.

Kimi Räikkönen with Markus Gross, ETH Professor of Computer Science and Chief Scientist at The Walt Disney Company, Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH, and Fritz Kaiser, Founder of The Classic Car Trust and Chairman of Roarington.