F1: Top Five races of Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari

There's never a dull moment with Kimi Raikkonen around, isn' it?

Fast in a Grand Prix car, quiet off it, enigmatic everywhere, the man of few words is someone who has to his credit some fine achievements at the top echelons of Motor-racing.

Among the fastest drivers on the grid, Raikkonen, now approaching 40, has proven that age is but a number. He's also shown by virtue of his amazing Monza drive and that great win at the USA that for as long as you focus and remain passionate about your craft, top honours aren't beyond you.

He may not have added another world championship to his tally. But to this day, Raikkonen remains Ferrari's last world champion. It also seems that his reality might not change any time soon unless Sebastian Vettel launches a mighty assault on Hamilton, the next year.

While the 2018 F1 season was eventually about Lewis Hamilton clinching yet another title, it was also, in parts, about Raikkonen discovering a delightful second wind of his career.

Now, slated to enter in his final-ever race for the Scuderia, a team with which he reigned supreme in 2007, the mind rewinds back to some fine moments where Raikkonen and Ferrari proved to be a house on fire.

So which have been the Top Five races for Kimi Raikkonen in Ferrari.

#5 Belgian Grand Prix 2009

There's always been something special regarding Raikkonen racing at Spa-Francorchamps. In 2009, Spa was the scene of his last win for Ferrari, before Kimi dropped out of F1.

But the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was a special race for Raikkonen in more ways than one.

For starters, the race was indicative of the mechanical superiority as brought in by the use of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), a concept no longer applicable and in running where F1 stands today.

Secondly, Raikkonen's win didn't always seem certain given the way Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton asserted their authority back then in the race.

In the dying moments of the Belgian Grand Prix, Raikkonen made first a stunning pass over Hamilton around the famous Eau Rouge corner and would later pass the Force India of 'Fisi' for a solid move on the main straights.

A popular race back then, Spa would once again fashion a typical icy-cool Kimi win in those glory days of the V8s and their blazing sounds, something the sport dearly misses today.

#4 Monaco Grand Prix 2017

Some may actually take to an offence by the mere mention of the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix.

For this was the race that served a confirmation, at least, to Raikkonen's die-hard fans, about Ferrari indeed treating him as a second-rate driver and someone who could be conveniently backstabbed, if you like.

On Saturday's important qualifying session, the Finn bagged a pole. This was an impressive feat for the simple reason that Raikkonen's form hadn't been all that great and he had been driving under a lot of pressure, his performances constantly being critiqued vis-a-vis Ferrari's main man: Sebastian Vettel.

Coming to Monaco at the back of a DNF at Spain, a track where Raikkonen's results over the years haven't really been all that impressive, Ferrari wanted the Iceman to perform.

And so he did. In going at a really quick 1:12:178, Raikkonen responded to the expectations one had of him and put his Ferrari on pole.

His teammate and Bottas would follow Kimi.

On race-day, given his impressive qualifying run, basically, everybody expected Kimi to win and he should have. Just that right in the middle of the race, around Lap 33, Raikkonen, going well on the old tyres was asked to pit for fresh rubber.

This was sudden and meant only one thing: that Sebastian Vettel was to be handed the lead of the race and that is exactly what it happened.

In the end, as Raikkonen exited the pits at the start of Lap 34, he had the tail of the other Ferrari in front, a car he wasn't able to pass.

If anyone needed a proof of how Ferrari robbed Raikkonen of a near-certain win then this was it.

Although, what was impressive about the sight was that Raikkonen didn't allow the fastest man on the grid back then- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull- to pass him and held on to a second.

#3 Brazilian Grand Prix 2007

The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix would always be remembered for Kimi putting his Ferrari right on top at Interlagos amid hundreds of thousands of thrilled spectators to bag his maiden and thus far, the only world title.

Boy, what a day it was.

Interestingly, Raikkonen's win wasn't assured, to be honest.

It wasn't the race-winner Raikkonen who bagged the pole but his teammate, in the other Ferrari, Felipe Massa who recorded a fantastic 1:111:931 in grabbing the pole.

Raikkonen would begin from a strong third. But there was another issue.

The equally fast and furious McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton was just in front, on second.

Then, on race day, there were fireworks.

For the first fifteen laps, the frontrunners continued unchanged. Raikkonen, unflustered that he is might have wondered how was it that he was going to breach past the defences of the two cars in front.

After one scheduled stop, the front pack continued undeterred and unchanged. However, a few laps later, on Lap 43, Raikkonen prepared for the kill.

It was on this lap where Massa, erroneously ran wide at Descida Da Lago and spiralled out of control, bringing Kimi into the picture.

Before the Brazilian pitted on Lap 50, he was ahead of Alonso and Raikkonen. A lap later, the Spaniard would pit and then, one lap later, Kimi would box the lap.

But by the time Lap 54 was in progress, the Iceman emerged right in front, with Massa at least, two seconds behind him. It was here when Raikkonen really put on the pace and secured the fastest lap.

He proved beyond the reach of the others in pursuit. Eventually, he won the title by a margin as scant as one point.

#2 The drive at Monza 2018

One of the most spectacular races seen in a long time, the 2018 Italian Grand Prix would be remembered for times to come.

It would be remembered for giving Kimi's critics a boner; a community that cannot accept the idea that the oldest man on Formula 1's grid is also the fastest.

Isn't that right?

By placing his Ferrari right on top in qualifying, Raikkonen delivered a ballsy lap at 1:19:119. In so doing, he got the pole and looked set for his first triumph for Ferrari since 2009 Belgian GP and his first win in over five years.

Eventually, it wasn't to be.

Yet, during the race, Raikkonen the pole-sitter went wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton and the duo would make Monza go wild in regularly outpacing each other.

First, Hamilton would come so close to Raikkonen that he'd all but overtake him around the chicane. Then, five laps later, he'd clinch the lead of the race from the Ferrari driver.

Immediately, one lap later, Raikkonen would emerge in Lewis' side mirrors for Round Two.

This time, he'd pass Lewis on the straights and would hold on valiantly until the final few laps where the Mercedes driver would once again, challenge his authority.

Eventually, as Lewis passed Kimi for one final time and did not budge, Raikkonen's race, it appeared, was spoilt all thanks to the worn-out tyres of his Ferrari.

Yet, in that fascinating P2 at Monza, in front of hundreds and thousands of Tifosi, Raikkonen didn't only claim his 100th podium but also made it memorable having driven the fastest-ever lap the previous day in the history of F1 racing.

#1 The Iceman turns on the heat at USA, 2018

The American Grand Prix of 2018 would finally bring Kimi and fans, what they had so longed for: a win, a finish at the front of the grid.

But once again, Raikkonen would have to work hard for this one. It wasn't always that he had the win for the taking.

His confidence lifted by a grid penalty handed out to Vettel-who had qualified second, behind pole-sitter Hamilton- meant that Kimi would now begin his USA challenge behind Lewis Hamilton.

Right at the start, Raikkonen, ferocious and willing to unleash himself dived down the inside of Lewis, who moved quickly but not quick enough to cut Kimi.

As a result, Raikkonen usurped the faster car, Mercedes, and gained the lead of the opening lap itself.

This was to be a position he wouldn't let go off until the very end.

Eventually, as the Iceman kept his cool and emerged the better driver among the fighting troika that included Max and Hamilton, the F1 fraternity was pleased with seeing one of F1's old-guards return to the place he seemed to belong on a few occasions in the past but just wasn't able to break through.

Not this time though at the Circuit of the Americas, where, according to Sky commentary expert David Croft, "Raikkonen was re-born in the USA!"

Edited by Alan John