Sky TV, broadcasting from the US Grand Prix this weekend, pointed out that COTA was the site of Kimi Raikkonen’s final F1 victory. They also lamented that it’s been 15 years since Scuderia Ferrari last won a World Championship. Eve superstars like Alonso, Vettel and Leclerc have been unable to secure a championship with the red team, so Raikkonen is taking matters into his own hands.
To help foster his son Robin’s budding kart racing career, 44-year-old Kimi Raikkonen has relocated his family from Switzerland to Italy. Robin Raikkonen is already a race winner on the local karting scene, but he’s now signed with prominent Italian team CRG KART (the same team Hamilton, Rosberg and Verstappen raced for). The Raikkonen family’s move to the Italian city of Como provides easy access to the international kart racing circuits of Northern Italy.
Raikkonen made no secret of his reluctance to push his son down the path of becoming a racing driver, but Robin’s talent is clear. Therefore the move to Italy will provide the best environment possible to strive for racing glory. Since retiring from F1 at the end of the 2021 season, Kimi has stayed away from racing, aside form two NASCAR road races. This allows the dad to focus on his lad’s racing endeavours and spending ‘quality time’ with his family.
No pressure, little Robin. His father is only the last Ferrari F1 World Champion with 21 wins in 19 seasons. No pressure.