Can't Wait To Finish Racing And Retirement Season, Raikkonen: It Feels Good To Be Over

Kimi Raikkonen (Instagram rakimimatiasraikkonen)

JAKARTA - Kimi Raikkonen said on Thursday he could not wait to retire from Formula 1 after 19 seasons and 349 races, but he would not be as emotional as his wife, Minttu, over the end of his career.

2007 world champion with Ferrari, Raikkonen now races for Alfa Romeo and has one race remaining in Abu Dhabi before hanging up his helmet at the age of 42.

"I can't wait to finish this season," said the rider nicknamed the Finnish Iceman at the Yas Marina Circuit, as quoted by Antara from Reuters.

"It's great that it's over and I can't wait to have a normal life after that.

"I think my wife will be more emotional about it," said the driver, who made his debut in 2001.

"I'm not sure the kids will care, I think they'll find other, more interesting things to do. They love visiting warm countries and being in the pools and stuff, but glad they're here."

Raikkonen in September announced plans to retire after the 2021 season was over, while his team signed Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes as a replacement.

In the driver's last race, Alfa Romeo gave Raikkonen a car with a special livery that read "Dear Kimi, we will leave you alone now", inspired by the driver's expression of frustration "Don't bother me, I know what I'm doing" over the radio. on his way to victory in Abu Dhabi with team Lotus in 2012.

The comments also went viral and were often made into memes, and even had commercial value as merchandise.

Being one of the drivers with the most fans, Raikkonen said he wanted to live without a rigid schedule.

"Right now I want nothing more than to finish the season," he said.

"We'll see if there's anything interesting going on, if it makes sense maybe I'll do it but I don't have any plans at the moment."