Beginning first in karting competition, Kimi Raikkonen began racing Formula cars in 1998. He moved into Formula One competition in 2001 with Sauber Petronas after testing with them in 2000. In his first year as a Formula One driver, Raikkonen earned a ninth-place finish in the Drivers' Championship after scoring nine points in the season.
In 2002, he began racing with West McLaren Mercedes. He finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship with 24 points and four podium finishes; second in France and third in Australia, Europe and Japan.
Raikkonen exploded in 2003 finishing second in the Drivers' Championship posting 91 points from his first win in Malaysia and seven second-place finishes and two third-place finishes. He followed that season with a seventh-place finish in 2004 with 45 points.
In 2005, Raikkonen came close to winning the championship, but due to several inconsistent finishes from mechanical failures in his MP4-20, he took second place. He finished on the podium 12 times, including seven wins.
Compared to those results, 2006 was a disappointment for the Finn. In 18 races, he went winless - scoring just six podium finishes and picking up three poles en route to a fifth place finish in the final standings.
It was fitting that the 2006 campaign was his last at McLaren Mercedes, leaving the organization for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.
In his first year with Ferrari, after replacing Michael Schumacher, Raikkonen proved that he was an adequate replacement when he won the title. It was a tight battle between he, rookie Lewis Hamilton and defending champ Fernando Alonso, up to the last race of the season. Raikkonen clinched the title by one point with a win in the season finale.
He returned for a second year with Ferrari in 2008. Raikkonen started the season with a ninth-place finish, only gaining the eighth spot and one point when Rubens Barrichello was disqualified. His championship run looked like it was back on track after he won the following race in Malaysia and scored three podium finishes, including one victory (Spain), in the next three races.
But, Raikkonen's season became derailed beginning with a ninth-place finish in the Grand Prix of Monaco. An accident in the following race in Montreal left him with an 18th-place finish and a hole to climb out of in the championship.
Raikkonen never won again in the season and with four straight non-points finishes in the concluding races, he finished the season third in the points - 23 behind champion Lewis Hamilton.
