Vettel to miss Raikkonen "silence" after F1 swansong
Vettel to miss Raikkonen "silence" after F1 swansong
Sebastian Vettel has conceded he will miss Kimi Raikkonen's trademark "silence" when the Finn calls time on his Formula 1 career at the end of the season.
Raikkonen has just two races remaining after announcing his retirement from racing at the end of the season in September, bringing to an end a career that began alongside Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya and Enrique Bernoldi in 2001.
The 2007 world champion stepped away from the sport for two years at the end of 2009 competing instead in the World Rally Championship but has otherwise been a mainstay of the paddock spending time at Sauber, now Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren.
“Will he be missed? Yes," assessed Vettel, Raikkonen's Ferrari team-mate of five years.
"I think he was a true character and I enjoyed the time that I had with him as a team-mate but to be fair, I got to know him already before.
"He is probably one of the very few drivers that I have met from day one until the present day that hasn’t changed in a sense that he has been very open, welcoming me as a young child or a young kid when I entered Formula 1.
“And at that time he was probably the most established Formula 1 driver, at least one of them.
“Great respect. I don’t think you can have an argument or a problem with Kimi. If you do, the problem is not him, the problem is you."
Reflective that time is a ticking clock for all drivers on the grid, Vettel added: "I think it is a natural thing.
"Time goes one way and at one point time comes for him, at some point time will come for me and at some point, time will come for Lando [Norris], even though that is a long way to go. It is probably the most natural thing.
“He is a great person and I am sure we will stay in touch so I wish him all the best and I will miss the silence.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Qualifying Results: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 times as Hamilton crashes out in Q1
- 31 minutes ago
Chinese Grand Prix Sprint 2024 results: Final classification with penalties applied
- 1 hour ago
Chinese Grand Prix qualifying red flagged after unusual HIGH SPEED crash
- 5 minutes ago
Hamilton suffers CATASTROPHIC F1 qualifying after early exit
- 24 minutes ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 49 minutes ago
Perez hits 'engineer's brother' in Chinese GP incident
- 1 hour ago
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860