The year of 2004 started out unfortunate as Kimi had to break his races three times!
It almost seemed that Kimi was followed by bad luck as the engine of the McLaren car stopped race after race, actually 8 times of 18! At these times Kimi got more than frustrated, as he knew he had enough capacity to be on the podium. It did show, when he once and then got through the whole race without engine problems; the Finnish "iceman" was usually at the podium! He could turn the impossible into the possible, like reaching podium after starting out from the very back. The year of 2004 resulted in low figures for Team McLaren Mercedes: only 45 points, and Kimi was 7th in the Drivers' Championship. The record of history of that year, showed Kimi to be the winner in Belgium; second in Great Britain and Brazil and 3rd in China.
Though all the problems with the McLaren car during that year, you could see the steady
and remarkable progress of Kimi. He had absolutely become one of the fastest racing car drivers in Formula 1. During 2005 he once again scored a 2nd place in the Drivers´Championship with 112 points after the winner Fernando Alonso. The record of history for that year, showed him being the winner at seven races in such countries as Belgium, Japan, Hungary Turkey Spain, Monaco and Canada. Besides that he gained the 2nd place in China, France and Brazil.
The year of 2006 Kimi is still driving for McLaren Mercedes Team. Throughout the year the McLaren car had many problems which did not give justice to Kimi´s many racing skills. It ended with Kimi on a 5th place in Driver´s Championship. However, great changes were on the way……..The 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher, surprised the world announcing he would retire after the end of the season of 2006. Rumors started immediately about whom the next Ferrari driver could be. Not surprisingly, it was soon discovered that Kimi Raikkonen would take his place!
