SCHOOL TRIPS NEVER USEDTO BE LIKE THIS.
There was always a long, bumpy coach ride to a working museum, where
a cottage made from wattle and daub was the highlight. If you were lucky,
you got to play withsome tools in a workshop. But for this group of French
children, they are experiencingthe best schooltrip money can’t buy.
At this very moment, Thursday afternoon of the French Grand Prix, when
they should actually be in a stuffy classroom learning about the nitrogen cycle,
they are at the door of the Alfa Romeo motorhome, getting Kimi Räikkönen’s
autograph. The time he is taking to sign every t-shirt, notepad and cap is
eating into the tightly scheduled interview slot withF1 Racing. For every
scrawl, he is avoiding questioning. But, as Kimi is finding, you can’t fairly give
six kids a signature and deny the out-stretched arms of another two dozen.
In the past, Kimi has been known to actively bowl frenzied fans out of the
way desperate for a dreaded selfie, or squiggle of ink. But for these juniors
attending a local school in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, this has been
the highlight of an initiative organised each year by the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Kimi, too, is clearly less impatient and moreau faitwith the pleas of children.
As the students melt away, Räikkönen enters the Alfa Romeo motorhome
and we ascend the stairs to the top floor. This hospitality structure was
originally purchased in the days when BMW owned the Hinwil-based team
and it has stood the test of time – much likeKimi himself. Nineteen years
have passed since he last raced for thisteam –in its guise as Sauber – and
today, the winner of 21 grands prix and the last driver to win aworld drivers’
championship for Ferrari is a married father-of-two. And at 39, he’s the oldest
competitor on the grid.
After remarking onthe sight of him signing autographs for theschoolkids, it
naturally ledto an enquiry about his own progeny: Robin, 4, and Rianna, 2.
“Yeah, good. Same, same. Not much different. Healthy, which is the main
thing. They are happy, so...”
Anyone who follows Kimi on social media will be awarethat most of his
posts are of his children on a variety of wheels: bicycles, quad bikes, scooters –
going around obstacles on a makeshift course.
“Robin’s generally at slow speed, but getting faster on a bicycle,” he says.
“After the first crash he’ll probably slow down abit. Rianna uses electric quad
bikes. I think she is the more wild one out of the pair. Iwouldn’t be surprised if
she wanted to trygo-karting. She’s more fearless, butthen, it’s true that when
they get a little bit older, thenthey start understanding thatcertain things
might hurt – then they calm down.”
Räikkönen Sr himself shows no sign of slowing down, six months into his
two-year deal with Alfa Romeo. In pre-season testing, when the new Alfa first
appeared on track, both Räikkönen and senior team members were quietly
confident the team had stolen a march on its midfield rivals with adiffer ing
aero philosophy, based around an unusual front wingdesign. The first few
grands prix of the year were alsopromising: two top-ten starts and points for
Räikkönen in the first four rounds. But since then progress has stalled...
“We startedOK, but the last few races have been quitebad,” concedes the
Finn. “What can you do? You can only try to improve. We know what the issues
are but we need some timeto fix them. We’ve found that some circuits suit us
more than others. There’s no major things, just small details, here and there.”
While Austria showed a welcome return toform, with both cars in thepoints
for the first time in 2019 and despite new ownership and increased investment
from Alfa’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), theteam a t
Hinwil is still relatively small. It is, therefore, more susceptible to swinging
fortunes due to the very tightlygrouped midfield and the more resourceful
teams it is competing with, such as McLaren and Renault.
“We have brought new stuff over the races and the others have improved
Nearly20yearsafterhe
startedhisF1careerwith
Sauber,Kimihasreturnedto
theteaminitsnewguisePICTURES:ALFAROMEO;JERRYANDRE