Kimi Raikkonen Net Worth and Biography

Kimi Raikkonen is a Finnish racing driver, with an estimated net worth of $200 Million. He has competed in Formula One, World Rally Championship, and NASCAR. In Formula One, he drove for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Raikkonen has won 21 Grands Prix, making him the most successful Finnish driver in terms of Formula One race wins, and the only driver to succeed in the V10, V8, and the V6 turbo hybrid engine eras. He also won the 2007 Formula One World Championship driving for Scuderia Ferrari.

Bio Data

Read More: 

• Fernando Alonso’s Net Worth and Biography
• Lewis Hamilton’s Net Worth and Biography
• Eddie Jordan Net Worth and Biography

Biography

Kimi Raikkonen was born in Espoo, Finland, on 17 October 1979, to Matti Raikkonen and Paula Raikkonen. He was a reluctant student who used his schoolbag as a sled to slide down snow-covered hills and enjoyed winter sports, especially ice hockey, though he eventually gave it up because he hated getting up for early-morning practice.

Kimi’s interest in racing began when he was three. He began competitive Karting at the age of 10. His first race outside Finland was in Monaco when he was 15 years old. At 16 he left school and enrolled in a course for mechanics, believing this skill might be the only way to stay involved in motorsport.

In 1998 he was first in the Nordic Championship at Varna in Norway. In 1999, Raikkonen placed second in the European Formula Super A championship for the Dutch PDB Racing Team. He also competed in the Formula Ford Euro Cup. By the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault winter series of 1999, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he won seven out of ten events in the Formula Renault UK Championship.

Career

Kimi Raikkonen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001. He joined McLaren-Mercedes in 2002 and quickly established himself as a title contender by finishing runner-up in the championship to Michael Schumacher in 2003, and Fernando Alonso in 2005.

Raikkonen’s time at McLaren was marred by a succession of unreliable cars, prompting a move to Ferrari in 2007. This change saw him crowned Formula One World Drivers’ Champion in his first season. In 2008, he equaled the record for the greatest number of fastest laps in a season for the second time.

Raikkonen left both Scuderia Ferrari and the sport after the 2009 season, his sole victory that year having come in that season’s Belgian Grand Prix. On his return to Formula One, Raikkonen drove for Lotus in 2012 and 2013, scoring the team’s only victories.

In September 2013, Ferrari announced his re-signing on a two-year contract, beginning in the 2014 season. This contract was subsequently extended until the end of the 2018 season. During his second Ferrari stint, Raikkonen scored 26 podiums, two pole positions, and a victory at the 2018 United States Grand Prix, 113 Grands Prix after his last victory.

Räikkönen finished among the top four overall in the championship on multiple occasions during his second Ferrari stint, finishing his total eight-year-long Ferrari career with a third place in the 2018 championship. He left Ferrari at the end of the 2018 season, and moved to Alfa Romeo Racing on a two-year contract, later extending it until the end of 2021, after which he retired from Formula One.

Honors and Accolades

Kimi Raikkonen is a recipient of numerous awards and accolades, thanks to his contribution to Motorsports. In 2005, he received the F1 Racing “Driver of the Year” accolade and the Autosport “International Racing Driver of the Year” award. In 2008 he won the DHL Fastest Lap Award for the second year in a row. He set the 10 fastest laps throughout the season.

Raikkonen’s 323rd Formula One race start at the Eifel Grand Prix saw him break Rubens Barrichello’s record for most Formula One race starts in history.  He won the FIA Action of the Year award for his opening lap at the Portuguese Grand Prix, where he overtook 10 cars

Raikkonen has won 21 Grands Prix, making him the most successful Finnish driver in terms of Formula One race wins, and he is the only driver to succeed in the V10, V8, and the V6 turbo hybrid engine eras.

Kimi Raikkonen Net Worth

Kimi Raikkonen is one of the richest car racers in the world, with an estimated net worth of $200 Million. He is one of highest paid drivers in Formula One. According to Celebrity Net Worth Kimi earned well over $50 million at the peak of his career. Forbes magazine listed him 36th in their 2008 “Celebrity 100” as the 26th highest paid celebrity and fifth highest paid sportsman. The same list in 2009 recorded him as the second highest-paid athlete.

In 2007, he was hired by Ferrari for a reported $41 million a year. In 2017 a massive pay cut was witnessed in Kimi’s contract and his earnings per year decreased from $30 million to guaranteed ($7 million). Recently he earned $1 million per race only winning conditions. In 2020 his annual salary hiked to $8.5 million a year.

Kimi also earns from numerous  endorsement deals with multinational companies and brands  such as Oakley, Wrangler, Singhai, iLoq, and West Coast Chopper