Räikkönen, success in karting from the age of ten

Switching to Ferrari in 2007 he became the highest paid driver in the sport, securing his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in a closely contested Formula One season. However, his title has not yet been officially confirmed.

Räikkönen had a long line of success in karting from the age of ten. His first race outside his home country was in Monaco when he was 15 years old. His steering wheel broke during the race and he informed his mechanic about the problem by waving the steering wheel in the air on the home straight. Räikkönen's next Monaco race was also memorable as he was thrown on the wrong side of the safety fence in a first lap collision, but continued driving there until running out of road and lifting his kart back on the race track. His mechanic thought Räikkönen had retired, but he eventually caught up with the other competitors and finished third. In 1999, Räikkönen placed second in the European Formula Super A championship. He also competed that year in the Formula Ford Euro Cup, and by the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault Winter series, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he won seven of ten events in the Formula Renault UK Championship. After racing in the Formula Renault series later in 2000, Räikkönen had won 13 of 23 events — a 56% win rate.

He went on to win, for the second year in a row, at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The following race (the Brazilian Grand Prix) saw Alonso clinch the Drivers' Championship, after finishing third behind Montoya and Räikkönen. In the penultimate race of the year, at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, Räikkönen produced arguably the best drive of his career, taking his 7th victory of the season after starting 20th on the grid (as rain, and an engine failure for Räikkönen, had mixed up the qualifying grid). The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Fisichella (who had started third on the grid, and had led most of the race) on the final lap - which Formula One journalist Peter Windsor thought the most impressive move of the race.

At the Spanish Grand Prix Räikkönen qualified 9th. However at the start Räikkönen managed to get up to 5th place on the first lap. He retained this position for most of the race, finishing 5th place. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship. In Monte Carlo, Räikkönen qualified third. During the race he would get up to 2nd and keep pace with Alonso, however he retired during a safety car period after a failed heat shield led to heat from the exhaust causing a wiring loom inside the car to catch fire.

At the European Grand Prix he captured his second pole position of the season. The race day was eventful caused by heavy rain that started in the 1st lap of race. Kimi missed the entrance of pitlane by slipping and lost his position. During the race he managed to get 3rd but he retired on lap 35 because of a problem with the hydraulics of the car.

In Hungary, he qualified his car in 4th place, but started from 3rd after Alonso was given a penalty. In the race Räikkönen overtook Nick Heidfeld at the start and pressured Lewis Hamilton until the end of the race, but had to settle for 2nd. Also, he set the fastest lap time at the last lap of the race which is an unexpected situation for most of the GP's. He said to the press after the race, "I was so bored behind Hamilton, I wanted to see how quick I could have been."

At the Fuji Speedway, the only new track of 2007 calendar, Räikkönen topped the timesheets of the Friday 1st free practice sessions. He qualified 3rd while Hamilton snatched pole and Alonso 2nd. In an extremely wet race, which saw the first 19 laps run behind the safety car, both Räikkönen and team-mate Massa were badly affected by having to change to extreme wet tyres during the early stages, due to the FIA's tyre-rule notification arriving late at Ferrari. Towards the end of the race, Räikkönen moved strongly through the field to 3rd but could not pass Heikki Kovalainen for 2nd.

At the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Räikkönen dominated the whole weekend with fastest laps in the free practice sessions. In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton snatched pole with a lighter fuel load, while Räikkönen qualified second and Massa third. Come Sunday, there was light rainfall at the beginning of the race which prompted the cars to start on intermediate tyres. After the first round of pit stops, Hamilton lost grip as his tyres suffered graining, and Räikkönen overtook him. Hamilton retired after sliding into a gravel trap in the pit lane. From there, Räikkönen took his fifth win of the season which revived his title hopes before the last race of the season.

This was also the 200th race win and 600th podium in Ferrari's Formula 1 history. Räikkönen remained an outside chance for the title, sitting seven and three points behind Hamilton and Alonso respectively going into the last race in Brazil, the first three way last race title battle since 1986.Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.