Kimi Raikkonen is not one to shy away from pressure, having an immense pedigree in his career. 

Aside from a 10th-place in his debut Formula One season, he has always finished in the top seven of every category he has ever raced. Six times he has finished a racing calendar year in the top two.

The 59th edition of the Formula One championship is shaping up to be another close season. In four races so far this season, there have been four different pole setters and three different winning drivers. The absence of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and numerous rule changes appear to be having the desired effect of increasing competitiveness.
Kimi has already launched his title defence in the most compelling fashion.  The season began poorly for Ferrari and the Finn, finishing in eighth place. He came back in stunning fashion in Malaysia, winning his first race. In Bahrain he finished second to Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa – this podium finish saw him overtake Lewis Hamilton in the driver’s championship. 

'With the standings so close, reliability will likely be the deciding factor'


His race in Barcelona was stunning for many reasons.  Despite fierce competition from double world champion Fernando Alonso in qualifying, Kimi took pole by a fraction of a second for his 15th pole of his career and his first of the season. 

The Finn drove the fastest lap of the race, and took victory to give him a nine-point buffer on second place Hamilton. The result also saw him become statistically the most successful Finnish driver in regards to fastest laps and podiums, overtaking the first real “flying finn” Mika Hakkinen.

Kimi is no stranger to success.  His first season for Sauber was his worst ever in terms of racing performance, yet his debut season in the world’s elite four-wheel racing class still saw him record eight top eight positions.

He switched to Mercedes in 2002, and this paid immediate dividends, with him taking his first podium at Melbourne.  He would claim three more throughout the season, including a runner-up slot in France, but numerous engine problems caused his downfall, with a disappointing 10 retirements. He was still good enough to claim sixth spot.

In 2003 he emerged as a title contender for the World Championship.  He finished a remarkable second in the final placings for the title taking 10 podiums for the season. Of course, this was in the middle of the epoch of Schumacher’s five straight world titles.

After a disappointing 2004, Kimi again came back as one of the most prominent drivers on the circuit. He was runner-up to Fernando Alonso in the World Championship.  His seven wins in the season equalled a record shared by Alain Prost, as the most victories by a driver to not win the world title (a record Schumacher also shared a year later).  He equalled the German though recording 10 of the circuit fastest laps in a single season.

In 2006 he took a second seat to Fernando Alonso’s second World Championship, but in 2007, Kimi took the title by a solitary championship point from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after joining Ferrari to become the highest paid driver in the sport.

It was the closest season in a long time, with four drivers winning at least three races. It took the Finn until the final race of the season in Brazil to win the title after taking the race victory.

Kimi has a dominant car and a very strong team behind him but faces immense competition from both his partner driver Massa, whom many believe is due for World Championship glory. 

Both Mercedes drivers, British gun Lewis Hamilton and double world champion Fernando Alonso will compete this season, so a title defence is far from automatic. 

With the standings so close, reliability will likely be the deciding factor – but Kimi’s beginning to his title defence has shown he will again be hard to dethrone.