It has been more than two seasons that he no longer had the means to fight at the forefront in Formula 1. But at 40, Kimi Räikkonen continues to write his legend on the circuits, almost twenty years after having made his debut in the discipline, at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. This longevity allows the Finn to steal from record to record. On Sunday, on the 38th lap of the Spanish Grand Prix, he thus became the driver having accumulated the most kilometers aboard a Formula 1 with 83,846 km on the clock. At the end of the event finished in 14th place, the 2007 world champion was able to push this astonishing statistic to 84,013 limits. Enough to circle the planet twice (40,075 km).
Alonso could take back his property next season
Räikkönen has thus beaten Fernando Alonso (83.882) who will have the opportunity to recover his good next season (if ever the Scandinavian withdraws) since the Spaniard is back on the grid with Renault. Michael Schumacher completes the top three with 81,208 km in the leg. The latest generation of drivers have a clear advantage in this mileage ranking since the number of grand prix per season has only increased in recent years (21 in 2019, 17 in 2000, 16 in 1990 and 14 in 1980).
Soon the record for the number of grand prix
Räikkönen, the driver to have collected the most laps (16.910) should soon reach another record, that of the number of grand prix covered. Rubens Barrichello still remains in the lead in this area with 323 races contested but the Finn is now just behind, with 319 events. He should be able to pop the cork of the champagne bottle at the Eifel Grand Prix, at the Nurburgring on October 11.
LAP 38/66: KIMI BREAKS A RECORD
After completing lap 37, Kimi Raikkonen has now raced 83,846 km in F1
That's further than any other driver F1 in history
That's more than twice the circumference of Earth
That's incredible # SpanishGP # F1pic.twitter.com / P5zoXOy12R
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