September 02, (THEWILL) – Race driver Kimi Raikkonen announced his decision to call it quits from Formula One at the end of the season on Wednesday via the photo sharing platform Instagram.
Raikkonen, who won the World Championship with Ferrari in 2007, has been racing with Alfa Romeo since 2019 and finished second overall in 2003 and 2005.
The 41-year-old remains one of only five drivers to have secured over 100 podium places in F1 history. His longevity in racing saw the Finn break the record for most F1 starts last year since his debut in Australia in 2001. He continues to extend it, as it now stands at 341, but not beyond this season according to his Instagram post.
Ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Raikkonen wrote: “This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I made during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.
“Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time.
“Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this! Sincerely Kimi.”
The Alfa Romeo driver initially left Formula One to compete in the World Rally Championship in 2010 and 2011, but returned in 2012 with Lotus, the British F1 racing team which now competes as Renault Sport Formula One Team since February 3, 2016.
The Finnish driver then went back to Ferrari before signing for Alfa Romeo. It has been reported that Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas will replace Raikkonen next season to race for Alfa Romeo.
So far this season, Raikkonen has only managed to secure two points after 10th-place finishes in both the Azerbaijan and Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
