"He surprised me" - Alfa Romeo reserve driver recalls "weird" Kimi Raikkonen incident

Kimi Raikkonen is known for a lot of things, but talking any more than necessary is not one of them. The Finn's attention to detail, however, caught Alfa Romeo's 2021 reserve driver Callum Ilott by surprise.

Ilott is a product of Ferrari's fabled drivers' academy. He was the runner-up in the 2020 F2 season behind current Haas driver Mick Schumacher. The Briton is presently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing.

Speaking during an interview with the Chasing the Apex podcast, Ilott remembered the time Raikkonen wished him on his birthday. He said:

“Look, he doesn’t say much, Kimi, within a personal side of things. But within a motorsport side of things, he really cares. He’s focused, he’s very good at what he does and you can hear it in how clear he is.”

Ilott then went on to say:

“He surprised me, to be fair. I think it was in Brazil. Thursday was my birthday and first thing in the morning when he came in he said ‘Happy Birthday.’ This is at 9 am, you know? And I was like: ‘How would you know it’s my birthday at 9am? What makes you know?’ You know, he hadn’t spoken to anyone on the way in, that was what was weird for me. So from that point he surprised me a bit on the personal side because obviously you know he does pay attention.”

Kimi Raikkonen has achieved cult status with F1 fans thanks to his curt replies on team radio during races over the years. The 2007 world champion is most famous for telling his race engineer to 'leave him alone' because 'he knows what he is doing.'

Beyond team radio, Kimi Raikkonen's consistency and longevity at the pinnacle of motorsport is testament to his dedication to racing in general and F1 in particular.

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Kimi Raikkonen open to other forms of racing if it 'makes sense'

Fresh off his second retirement from F1, Kimi Raikkonen is reportedly open to other forms of racing, providing it 'makes sense' to him.

The 42-year-old veteran hung up his gloves after a DNF in his final F1 race at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While discussing his future after F1 in an interview with GPFans, Raikkonen said:

“I’m always open to listen if it’s something that makes sense, but I don’t know, as simple as that, and time will tell. I’ll do normal things and see what comes up. If it’s something interesting, then maybe I’ll do something.”

Kimi Raikkonen has 21 wins, as well as 103 podium finishes, in F1. He was also the last driver to win a world championship with Ferrari in 2007.