Former 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen has announced he will retire from the sport at the end of the 2021 season.
The 41-year-old – who turns 42 next month – driver from Finland won the 2007 Formula 1 driver’s championship with Ferrari, finished second overall twice [2003 and 2005], third three times [2008, 2012 and 2018] and has won a grand total of 21 grands prix in 341 starts [the most in F1 history and with 103 of those resulting in podium finishes] over the span of his 20-year career.
Shortly after winning the F1 driver’s world championship with Ferrari, Raikkonen took two years off and competed in both the World Rally Championship [WRC – where he finished 10th overall] and a brief NASCAR stint before returning to F1.
Raikkonen has driven for Alfa Romeo for the past three years and his best finish in that time was a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
“This is it. This will be my last season in Formula One. This is a decision I did during last winter,” said Raikkonen on his Instagram. “Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy.”