Kimi Räikkönen: “As long as the pleasure is there”

The number 308 will ultimately not have brought you luck in Sochi…

Not really, no. I ran the lights at the start and from then on we knew a penalty was coming. We did our best by closing the gap to the rest of the peloton during the neutralization, but we could not climb higher than P13.

The last four races have been very difficult, we need to understand what is wrong. The potential is there and we must return to our Spa level.

When you started in 2001, could you imagine for a single moment that you would still be here almost 20 years later?

Certainly not ! I thought I was going to stop much sooner. I stopped elsewhere, but I came back. I never had any idea how long it would last. I was hoping for at least a year, maybe two.

Things turned out differently (absent from the 2010 and 2011 seasons, he returned in 2012 to Lotus. Ed.), but I never had a plan. I still don't have one. As long as the fun is there and I am able to do good things, I will continue.

Given the extremely competitive nature of this sport, are you proud of this longevity?

Proud ? Not really. As long as I feel like I can ride at the level I hope to be at, and that I can do things, I'm happy to continue. As long as racing is more important than all the other stupid things in life, I won't say to myself: “Okay, you've done so many races, and it's great! »

For me, only the result counts. Maybe one day, long after I hang up, that number will mean something. Currently not.

Discover the entire interview with Kimi Räikkönen, in issue 2236 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.