KIMI: A MAN WHO WAS JUST BORN TO RACE – AND NOTHING ELSE
You may not be surprised to learn Kimi Raikkonen was mute for the first three years of his life. His parents were understandably concerned and took him to the doctors, as not a single word had been uttered. But they found nothing wrong. Indeed, his other responses and reactions were surprisingly quick.
At the age of five, Raikkonen fell off his bike and after an impact with the handlebar, damaged a vocal cord in his throat.Although he was now speaking, he grew up with a peculiar tone which he’s retained to this day.
The 41-year-old Finn is renowned for his undemonstrative demeanour and monosyllabic communication in public, but privately the opposite is true.
The glimpses we get of this impassioned racer have been – amusingly – from some of his team radio that has been broadcast throughout his two decades in Formula 1.
