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Although Kimi Raikkonen is known for his somber and quiet demeanour off track, he was one of the fastest and most courageous F1 drivers. The former F1 driver arrived in the sport in 2001 with Sauber before moving to McLaren in 2002. Among his countless daring drives, one from the 2002 Belgian Grand Prix stands out.
During the race, Olivier Panis, had an engine failure right after the Radillon turn at Spa. While the car was running, it started throwing massive clouds of smoke that filled the track and made it impossible to see anything.
Despite seeing the entire track covered in smoke, Raikkonen did not even lift his foot from the throttle. The Finn kept pushing through the smoke and got out of the danger zone without any problems.
Here's the video:
The video showed how he went into the smoke without slowing down and plowed through it.
There was even an on-board camera footage that showed how drastically the visibility dipped once he was inside the dense smoke cover. Although it was extremely dangerous to attempt, Kimi Raikkonen was courageous and confident enough to pull something it off. Even commentators were in awe and admitted that they had never seen any driver push through the smoke without lifting or braking.
Unfortunately, Kimi Raikkonen himself suffered an engine failure and was unable to finish the 2002 Begian GP. That year was one of the worst seasons in Raikkonen's career in terms of reliability, as he had to retire from ten of 17 races. Despite all the DNFs, he finished sixth in the drivers' championship.
Kimi Raikkonen returns to NASCAR with Trackhouse Racing's PROJECT91 for second time
Trackhouse Racing has recently confirmed that former F1 driver Kimi Raikonnen will once again drive for their PROJECT91 team in NASCAR.
The Finn will drive the #91 Onx/iLOQ Chevrolet Camaro at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on March 26, 2023. He will drive alongside teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks spoke about the Finnish driver, praising his expertise and how fans loved him racing in NASCAR after he left F1 at the end of 2021. He also revealed how he had Raikkonen in mind when he created PROJECT91 for NASCAR. Marks said:
"When we announced Kimi last year, I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created Project 91. I think you saw the fan reception across the world, and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept."
Kimi Raikkonen had raced for PROJECT91 at Watkins Glen International, finishing 37th after being involved in an accident.
