F1 Will Miss Raikkonen, Hamilton Says, Amid Uncertainty Over Ferrari Future

Lewis Hamilton insisted Formula 1 will miss Kimi Raikkonen when he eventually calls time on his career, which could even be at the end of the current season.

The Finnish racer has competed in F1 for 16 seasons, winning one Drivers’ championship title with Ferrari in 2007. He has finished second in the title race on more than one occasion, but is currently the oldest driver on the grid.

Raikkonen is currently driving for Ferrari, his second stint with the Italian team. Despite not having won a race since rejoining the team, the 2018 season has been his most competitive in recent years.

The Finn is currently third in the Drivers’ championship standings behind title contenders Hamilton and Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel, but his future in the sport still remains uncertain. The Maranello-based team are yet to make a decision on whether they will retain Raikkonen, who has four months left on his deal or replace him.

Young Ferrari academy driver Charles Leclerc has impressed in his debut F1 season with Sauber and is being touted as a potential replacement, but the final decision will lie with Ferrari, which is expected in the coming months. If the Monegasque driver is promoted as Vettel's teammate in 2019, Raikkonen could call time on his career in F1.

Hamilton believes Raikkonen still has plenty of years left in him and he showed this at the recently concluded Italian Grand Prix when he battled the Mercedes driver for almost the entire race.

“Would I miss Kimi? I think it’s always a difficult question to say if you miss someone,” Hamilton said, as quoted on Planet F1. “I think the sport would naturally miss him, yeah.”

“He’s had an incredible career and it’s been a real honor to race against a great Finn such as him – but he looks like he’s just ice-cold. … He’s just got plenty of years left in him. He’s not seeming to age. I don’t know what it is about Finnish people. I think it’s the sauna and the ice thing,” the British driver added.

Hamilton also admitted he was a fan of Raikkonen, whom he replaced at McLaren when he made his F1 debut in 2007. The Mercedes driver revealed he used to be the Finn on PlayStation, while also using his car setup during his debut season.

“I made it no secret that before I even got to Formula 1 I was always playing… when I was playing the Playstation I was always Kimi in the McLaren, imagining that was me,” Hamilton said.

“And then I remember the first car at McLaren which was Kimi’s set-up and the suspension that he would use, which was… I remember it like it was yesterday. … It was an amazing experience and it was cool because I think our driving style was kind of similar, which meant that I ended up being quite comfortable with the set-up that he used back then,” the four-time world champion added.

The F1 title battle will resume Sept. 16 when the F1 juggernaut arrives in Singapore for the second night race of the season.