In the Formula 1 of the ‘new generation’, which sees a steady growth of a brood of strong and very young drivers – who often appear in their twenties in the limelight of the Circus – few veterans are able to keep up. There is of course Lewis Hamilton, who this year celebrated his seventh career title; there is Fernando Alonso, who in 2021 will return to compete in the Grand Prix three years after the last time; and then there’s the most ‘veteran’ of all, the 41-year-old Kimi Raikkonen. For the Finnish Alfa Romeo driver, 2020 was a complicated year, above all due to the poor competitiveness of his car.
#FIAPrizeGiving2020 – The #FIAActionoftheYear award celebrates the most spectacular moments of the racing year and is the only prize of the evening voted for by motor sport fans around the world. Congrats Kimi Räikkonen for his fantastic start at the @ F1 #PortugueseGP pic.twitter.com/EQla0qHiCK
– FIA (@fia) December 18, 2020
Despite this however, the latest Ferrari world champion was able to take advantage of some special races to remind everyone how great is his talent. His two points finishes come to mind, both in Italy – at Mugello and Imola, two ninth places – but not only. Raikkonen’s true masterpiece of the season in fact arrived in Portugal, in a GP that ended outside the top-10, in 11th place. On the Portimao route Iceman, who started 16th, managed to take advantage of a light rain that fell on the track during the first lap for gain 10 positions in a single round, climbing up to sixth place.
A masterpiece then thwarted by the lack of competitiveness of the C39, but which certainly did not leave motorsport fans indifferent. So on the occasion of the Gala evening organized by the FIA to reward the protagonists of the year just ended, the name of Raikkonen appeared among the winners of the evening. In fact, the Finn has won recognition for theAction of the Year, the prize awarded to most spectacular time of the year. It is significant that it was the only prize awarded by the fans, further proof of how much the Espoo veteran is still appreciated by the fans.
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