The F1 legend that got 'told off' over Top Gear appearance

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel at the Bahrain GP in 2015 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

The F1 legend that got 'told off' over Top Gear appearance

Top Gear has featured many F1 guests over the years

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 20 December 2025 22:56

Make us your Google favorite

One F1 legend's Top Gear appearance didn't go to plan after a producer on the BBC show admitted to snapping at a champion.

Top Gear was one of the BBC's flagship programmes, with the British automotive magazine show famously hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May for over a decade.

One popular segment of the show was the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car', which took celebrities and placed them in road cars, such as the Suzuki Liana or the Vauxhall Astra, for a timed lap around the Top Gear track - Dunsfold Park in Surrey, a former World War II airbase.

Article continues under video

Throughout the series' high point on the BBC, the show drew in celebrities such as Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Cameron Diaz, but featured their own special leaderboard for F1 stars.

The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jenson Button have all appeared on the show, but recently producer Andy Wilman reflected on the F1 champion he had to shout at - Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen's Top Gear telling off

Famous for his 'Ice Man' persona, Raikkonen always provided a dose of blunt and monotone Finnish charm in the F1 paddock and was the last driver to win a title for Ferrari in 2007.

Speaking on the Midweek F1 podcast, Wilman reflected on Raikkonen's time on the show in 2012 and how his efforts were initially a little underwhelming during his lap in the Liana, eventually setting a time of 1:46.1 in the wet.

“Raikkonen came on the show,” Wilman said. “Everyone’s doing their lap. His was a wet day and we were like, ‘Oh, he’s not going to do it.’ He’s like, ‘OK, but he’ll give it some because it’s Kimi.’”

“I went down to see the guy with the timer, Nick Dalton, had the watch out. I’m like, ‘How’s he doing? How’s he doing?’ He went, ‘Not great.’”

“So he goes into his motorhome and he’s like, ‘Done, I’ve done enough laps now,’” Wilman continued. “He wasn’t unfriendly, but he’s just like, ‘It’s a rainy day.’”

“I’ve gone in a bit late because he’s in the Lazy Boy chair and it’s warm and he’s fully stretched out like Joey from Friends.

“And I went, ‘Kimi, it’s drying out now. I can’t tell you your time, but it wasn’t brilliant and we know you could go faster.’ And he went, ‘No, I can’t.’”

“I said, ‘If you look out of the window, you’ll see it’s definitely getting drier.’ And he, with hugely bad grace, upped himself to the window and he went, ‘No, it isn’t,’ and then lay back again.”

"So I kind of lost it with him a bit and bollocked him. Like, ‘There’s so many people here waiting to see you make a comeback… and that’ll be on you if you don’t do something.’

“Then he got up and he went and did a couple more laps and went a bit faster. That was the day I told Kimi off.”

F1 HEADLINES: ‘Game over’ for Hamilton as Ferrari boss explores 2026 reshuffle

F1 Kimi Raikkonen