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A young Kimi Raikkonen battled hard with legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher for the lead at the 2002 French Grand Prix. The Finnish driver kept the German world champion behind him for multiple laps around the then-venue of the Grand Prix, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.
Watch the clip of the two drivers battling below:
Schumacher was beaten to pole by Juan Pablo Montoya, who had an excellent qualifying run for Williams the previous day. Behind them were Rubens Barichello and Kimi Raikkonen, starting in the second row.
Montoya pulled away from the German at the start of the race and maintained his lead as the Magny-Cours circuit was notorious for being difficult to overtake. Raikkonen, on the other hand, was promoted to third place as Barichello suffered an electrical failure at the start of the race.
What followed was pure vintage F1 racing action, with Michael Schumacher being held up by Montoya's Williams and Raikkonen keenly catching the duo from the back. As gaining track position through traditional overtaking was difficult at the circuit, teams resorted to pit-strategy to gain positions in the race. The Colombian was the first to jump into the pits, giving a faster Schumacher two-laps worth of clean air to show is pace.
Kimi Raikkonen defended brilliantly against Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher's pit strategy worked flawlessly as the German emerged in front of Montoya. The Ferrari driver crossed the white line at the pit exit, however, resulting in a drive-through penalty.
Eventually, a young Kimi Raikkonen led the race from Schumacher, who was rapidly catching the Finn in second place. The McLaren driver defended himself with everything he had, trying to secure his first victory in the sport. With five laps to go, however, Raikkonen's luck ran out as Allan McNish's Toyota suffered an engine failure and spilled oil through the second corner. Raikkonen entered the corner first and spun slightly, allowing the win-hungry German to steal the position and take first place in the race.
The German won his fifth world championship that day in 2002, equalling another F1 legend, Juan Manuel Fangio. Schumacher then went on to win the drivers' title in the next two years as well, cementing his status as the greatest of all time. The 2002 season, however, was record-breaking for the German, as he achieved a tally of 17 podiums in 17 races, a record which stood for nearly 20 years until finally being broken by Max Verstappen in 2021.
