F1 throwback: 10 years to Kimi Raikkonen and his "Just leave me alone, I know what to do"

Kimi Raikkonen's iconic "Just leave me alone, I know what to do" radio message at the 2012 F1 Abu Dhabi GP is now a decade old. The Finnish motorsports legend was heard on the radio to the Lotus F1 pit wall, telling his engineer to leave him alone - in what is now a classic Kimi moment.

Watch the iconic moment below:

Raikkonen inherited the lead in the race in Abu Dhabi after Lewis Hamilton's McLaren suffered an engine failure whilst in the lead. The Finn had to now merely manage his pace and tires and keep a charging Fernando Alonso behind.

The driver had, up till then, successfully held numerous legends of the sport and was definitely in control of the situation - as his race engineer sadly found out. His Lotus race engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps was constantly updating the Finn on his pace relative to Alonso's, leading to a rare show of emotion from Raikkonen. He said:

"Just leave me alone, I know what to do"

Kimi Raikkonen definitely knew what he was doing, as he went on to fetch his 19th career win. His epic drive also gave Lotus their first podium of the season, proving to the world that Raikkonen hadn't lost his immense racing ability.

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Fans react to Kimi Raikkonen's iconic radio message

As expected, Raikkonen's radio message is one that has captured the hearts of thousands of F1 fans around the world, making the 'Iceman' one of the most beloved drivers of all time. Fans on Twitter had a gala time in lieu of the tenth anniversary of the former driver's radio message.

Prominent F1 journalist Matt Bishop Tweeted:

"Kimi Räikkönen, Abu Dhabi, team radio, #OnThisDay 10 years ago. If you know, you know."

Another fan rather sarcastically remarked that Kimi Raikkonen in fact did not want to be left alone, but instead wanted constant updates from his engineer. They wrote:

"It's when he wanted to be kept up to date and wanted constant feedback from his engineer. Right?"

Another fan replied to Matt Bishop, joking that Kimi's line to his engineer is what they would like to say to their boss at work. They wrote:

"What I say to my boss when he gets involved in something he hasn't had any interest in previously. Miss Kimi on the grid"

Kimi Raikkonen will go down as one of the sport's all-time greats, putting him on the same wall as Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and others. His dry wit is sorely missed on the paddock, with many around the world hoping he comes out of retirement soon.