Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen or Lewis Hamilton - who was a better McLaren driver?

Iceman- The Flying Finn Rises – Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen

Mika Hakkinen passed on the Finnish legacy in Formula One to Kimi Raikkonen. His vacant seat at McLaren was filled by young countryman Raikkonen in 2002. With just one year in Formula One, the young driver had to shoulder a big enough responsibility and he did that brilliantly with utmost calm. His ability to withstand pressure and come out triumphant from many a race situations got him the tag of ‘Iceman’ in no time.

Despite finishing sixth in the McLaren in his first year, he, in a peculiarly similar fashion like Mika, gave Schumacher a run for his money in 2003. He won his first race at the Malaysian GP, and followed it up with remarkable podium finishes before losing to Michael at Suzuka, Japan by just one point.

The 2004 season wasn’t the best, with the McLaren struggling to survive races, and Kimi finished a disappointing seventh. The 2005 season saw another determined effort to win the drivers’ title but this time, Fernando Alonso in the Renault was his bête noire. Kimi put up a brave fight in the McLaren by winning 7 races. The 2006 season proved disappointing thanks to a non-competitive car, and a fifth place in the points table prompted him to move to Ferrari, where he won his first World Drivers’ Championship in 2007.

One word that describes Kimi for me is attitude. “I am what I am, take it or leave it” is what defines Kimi. Add to that the unrelenting hunger to succeed no matter what the situation. Unlike Mika, Kimi spoke his mind off the track but whilst on it, he never backed away from muscling the McLaren and was seemingly consistent with podiums and scoring points.