KRS – Where The Raikkos’ Are Concerned…

The first Grand Prix of 2008 season wasn’t promising although before the
beginning Kimi already was considered as double world champion. However, Kimi
fans never lose their faith and had believed that Kimi can do this. But Ferrari
and Kimi himself have made a lot of mistakes, that’s why this season is lost.
There were good and bad moments, but it is how it is. We can’t change it
although we would really like to do that. I like to see that Kimi feels
comfortable in the Ferrari team and I’m happy for him. Now we are looking
forward next season. I truly believe that Kimi will do his best because he is
the best and only one!
Agniukas

It was only sometime last year when I
discovered this website that I really began to read extensively and follow the
career and life of Kimi closely. Thanks to Evenstar I quickly and effortlessly
got to know everything about Kimi. Being one of the older fans and
technologically impaired, I only recently got so far as to post a comment. This
was a major step for me! Now I will go even further and send a photo as well!
This is revolutionary! I now regard myself a true member of the KRS family.
About 2008:  Although Kimi did not have a good year, a lot of good has come from
it. First of all Kimi has given me a lot of joy watching him. Winning races is
after all not the only reason why we support this guy. I think the difficulties
he experienced will make him more determined to succeed in 2009. Progress has
also (finally) been made regarding the setup of the car. Hopefully this will
continue in 2009. This together with the extensive winter programme could only
be to his benefit. Having to work hard for success has always been known to
build character. That is why he is such a great person – seeing that he had to
deal with a lot of bad luck throughout is career. I like his reserve and
positive approach to life. I get so mad at people who write him off or criticise
him as someone with a lack of motivation, emotion, blah-blah-blah. But take
heart, all these remarks will put extra fuel in the Flying Finn’s Ferrari tank
and the red car with the blond racing driver will be back.

Things can only get better! Keep flying, Kimi!
Suzette

Kimi, what a season its been huh? I really started following you this season
in F1, and you make the races so much better. I know you have had your ups and
downs. I give you so much credit, and respect for sticking it out and looking at
the big picture! I’m so proud to be a Kimi fan, you’re the best, and always a
No.1 Champion in my eyes no matter what! 2009 will be awesome, I know it!

Much Love and Luck,
Tina

I cannot speak about Kimi season without
speaking about Ferrari. I really do not know what to say. I will tell you that,
why in God’s sake this huge amount of bad luck has stuck with Kimi this year.
Though, I myself know the answer earlier because from the last year until now
there’s been a huge amount of bad luck stuck in my life too. The difference
between me and Kimi is that he always go ahead and throws what’s happened behind
him. I really do not know from where he has this strength to keep going. For
sure and despite what happened in this year I’m sure next year Kimi will be at
the top again. I cannot describe to you how was my heart beating in the moment
Kimi went out from the last pitstop in Brasil last year and Massa shown behind
him. I wish that I will feel this feeling once again.

If anybody can deliver this message to Kimi: please Kimi do not go out from
this sport untill you are douple champion you deserve it, and please try to stay
after 2010. And thanks for you dear Saima.
Tareq

2008 is a year to forget. Forget someone named L.Hamilton who had ruined
Kimi’s race again and again. Forget the Ferrari team who failed to make the
right decisions when winning was very possible. Forget all that bad luck which
happened around Kimi (the exhaust failure…safety car…rain). And forget the
developement of F2008 in the mid-season which restrained Kimi’s pace, rather
than accelerated it. But it is also a year to remember. We need to remember
those two beautiful victories in Malaysia and Spain. Remember we set 10 fastest
laps in 17 races. Remember our hero always tried his best to fight till the very
end, no matter how tough the situation was. "We should never give up." Remember
Kimi is the only true racer out there. "All for the win, or nothing." And a
decent team member, who always says "We win and lose as a team", and never ever
complains.

And please remember, "through all those ups and downs", we are always with
him!
Icyice

An unbelievable year – it was totally the
contrary of what I expected for Kimi this year. Really. After the wonderful end
we had last year, I believed that our awesome man could have fought always in
front with all the team behind him and working hard to make a perfect car for
him. But that was not what really happened. Although I didn’t expect him to win
all races. However we can recognize that as usual Kimi is able to get over the
worst and still show he is the fastest driver in the world with his tenth
fastest lap in 2008. Sure we can be proud of him even with a difficult year and
a bad car for him. My love and support are intact, no matter what. After the
first race I was dubious, then he won the second one at Malaysia and I said
myself  “ok, now he is really ready”, and then again I was confident until the
Canada GP where I told myself that there was not only the car’s issues but the
other drivers’ errors too. I waited for my home race in France where I went to
support Kimi, hoping to see him shining again after last year’s beautiful race
(where I was not, errrr!)  and I have to admit that despite the amazing race he
made, despite the exhaust problem, I came back down from my cloud, I felt
disgusted. But I will always remember how he drove perfectly in front of my eyes
even after his exhaust problem. He is the best in all conditons. He’s got all my
respect. Not what I expected again and again, race after race, I still hoped but
less and less, and then Spa arrived. I was so sure that nobody could beat him
there but a disappointment again. We were bitterly accustomed to the
difficulties for Kimi in the past but I was so convinced that the worse was
behind him but no, life is always difficult, that’s the same for a lot of
people. At least, that lets us feel that the victory is better, and tastes
sweeter then. And tomorrow will be another story. I loved all what I saw about
our man this year, the good and bad moments because even in the bad moments we
can recognize the marvellous man he is and be proud of something. He’s got the
“sisu” and every time we could have seen him flying. Just for that, no matter
the result in the end, it’s a real pleasure every time. This was not his best
year but I’m really convinced that the even numbered years don’t suit him so I
have no rancour, that’s the game. I have become like Kimi: I accept what
happens, take the better of the worse and keep going ahead! And that’s in the
difficult moments that we can know who is a true fan and who is a great man.
KIMI RAIKKONEN IS A TRUE, GREAT MAN AND DRIVER. AND WE ARE ALL HERE THE TRUE
KIMI FANS!

So keep flying Kimi and rendez-vous next year for an unbelievable but nice
one!
Marilyne

Hi friends! Kimi did a quite bad season this year but I think it was because
the team did some mistakes in some races and of course Kimi’s misfortune in
France, Singapore, Spa…but in that circuit at Belgium I think he is the MASTER
and nobody can win with Kimi in the track! It was only bad luck this year and
I’m very sad about that. If only Ferrari had said in the first race: "Kimi is
our first driver and he is the man who has to win the championship", like they
did with Schumacher, I think Kimi would have been a double World Champion in
Brazil! Good luck for the next season.
Kimi Räikkönen on paras! The
Iceman!
Pedro

2008 – a year with heights and depths! I’m happy for our champ Kimi, that he
gets this year the DHL Fastest Lap Trophy again. I think our hero did a great
job this year, but he never got a reward for his hard work! This year Kimi had
many unlucky races. The two guys infront of him had much more luck this year. In
four races, Kimi wasn’t able to finish the race. It’s too bad that he is not
able to fight for the Title. We know how hard Kimi works to live his dream
again. But now he hasn’t a chance for the Title. I hope and believe that 2009
will be a much better year for Kimi and Ferrari! I trust him and we have seen
that he can do it. So at least I say we shouldn’t give up & wait and see!!!

Keep Flying Kimi
Ozge

"The real racing driver’s hardest year in Formula 1." After the magical
miracle that had happened in Brazil last year, I was waiting for a spectacular
episode. I’ve got something but it’s not what I thought I would get. I thought
it would be the easiest way for Kimi to win a back-to-back championship title
this year. In the first couple of races it looked like he could make it happen,
right until Monaco. From that GP, things had gone wrong and then came nightmare
after nightmare. I try to believe that he and the team tried everything to make
the things in order but they just couldn’t solve the problems. and when they did
it was too late. In that situation I felt (and as it turned out, Kimi too) that
the only chance left was at Kimi’s favorite track, Spa. In Spa he showed one of
his best performances in his whole F1 career – if not the best – he was
breath-taking and mind-blowing there. He showed his real racer attitude and I
was so proud of him despite he couldn’t win it. Though he won it in my heart, no
matter what the results show, he’s the true King of Spa. Ironically his favorite
track – which has given him so many great feelings and three consecutive sweet
victories – has become his biggest enemy in a way because there was the real
turning point. Now, that he doesn’t have any chance to win this year’s title he
backs his team and his team-mate. It must be hard for him as the reigning world
champion but he does it quietly, for the team which helped his biggest dream
come true last year. Honestly, I’ve always liked Kimi as a person not just as a
racing driver but what I’ve experienced this year about his personality is
beyond my dreams. So many disappointing things have happened to him and he still
is humble and loyal to his team. The media, the journalists, the so-called fans
and a certain driver bash him but he doesn’t say anything incorrect. I admire
him more and more because he really shows his true side despite what they say
that he doesn’t like to talk. It just says everything about his personality, how
he behaves in these kind of crucial situations. He’s a special, extraordinary,
unique human being. A fresh, comely spot in a world full of lies, hate and
prejudice. He’s a real racing driver with raw talent who drives flat out, who
doesn’t care about PR stuff and who wants nothing else just to win all the time.
Afterall, that’s what F1 should be about.

I’m proud to be a Kimi fan, I love you Kimi and don’t forget: Do not
change!
Kinga from Hungary

This year was unfortunately not the best for
Kimi. Maybe it was the car, maybe it was him, maybe it was the bad luck. But for
me Kimi has had a good season despite all the problems in the year. He looks
very happy with Ferrari! Everybody talks about if he stays in the team or not,
or if he’ll leave Formula One. I think that it’s purely all the lies and
speculations from people who don’t know the hard work, the talent and the real
passion that Kimi has for this sport. Don’t worry Kimi, all your fans always
will be with you, I am one of a million! You are our inspiration to believe in
our dreams. The dreams become true! Thank you for giving us happiness and hope.
And next year you will be back to the top, where you really belong.
Daniela

Hello everybody. Well, if I can sum up the last few months of the current
championship, it was many times quite disappointing especially from Kimi’s point
of view. It started quietly well, but then the season spiralled downwards a bit.
In the last few races I was very pleased when Ferrari developed the car more to
Kimi’s requirements and I’m sure that in the upcoming season Kimi can show once
again how fast he really is. So lets enjoy the showdown in Brazil and hope the
best for the next season. By the way, I’ll like to say many thanks to Saima who
is doing a great job here: “THANKS”. I like always reading this fan-page. Keep
it up. 

Keep flying Kimi! Big greetings to everyone.
Robert

This year, after each race, I have been
writing the summary of all my feelings (till now 17 races). Now looking back on
everything, after the Spanish GP, all things seemed to become helpless.
Especially the Canada GP. I could not express my feeling of that. In the first
five months, what we said most was that we have the next race. But the result
was not coming as we expected. However, Kimi could never give up. And so we all
never give up too. In Spa we had seen that our King was back, as he was in 2005.
He is the real winner. "All for the win or nothing." Kimi might have said that
this was not his year, but we will always support him. In Shanghai, we were full
of happiness, as we said that no matter success or failure we are with him
forever. I don’t want to say anything about Massa or Ferrari, or who is the
champion of this year, we don’t care. Though in the middle of the season we have
discussed some things about them. Indeed, what we really care about is whether
Kimi is happy.

Now I  want to say that next year everything will be fine.With
our best wishes.
Lvy

In general, 2008 started well, with several good races for Kimi
and important victories in Spain and Malaysia where he celebrated also his first
Formula One victory’s five year anniversary. In the middle of the season the
"problem" wasn’t Kimi but most of all Ferrari’s strange strategy at the box,
with lots of problems and several bad decisions in rainy races. But Kimi never
gave up and tried his best every time, closing every time the gap between the
head of the race. Problems came, I think, from misunderstanding with the team
about setting the car up, with aerodynamical changes that Kimi had not approved.

Troubles, team mistakes and bad fortune… I know, it was cruel to see Kimi as
in Singapore, sad, almost crying, but he had never given up! Great closing gaps
during races, lots of podiums, important victories, several personal records and
Formula One records, and with a final part of season as he want, it can make us
be hopeful about the future.

Keep flying Kimi! You’re the best!
Pernilla-Enry

This is a good initiative by you where fans can send emails to express
support for Kimi Raikkonen. It’s been a unique season where we’ve seen Kimi
fight his way through difficult times. He’s shown a new side of his personality
and his handling of pressure and irritating media criticism. He’s shown that
he’s a great driver and that he can work to sort out his problems. Lately
Michael Schumacher has advised Kimi to be more open which shows Kimi has done
everything all by himself. In the last couple of races we’ve seen the old Kimi
who’s out-qualified and out-raced his mediocre teammate who grabbed the
spotlight in the wake of Kimi’s handicap situation. All in all, Kimi has learned
a lot and we can only hope for a positive 2009 season. His team plans to use him
a lot in the winter testing. That must re-affirms their belief in
him.
Syed

Well first of all, thanks for your great job all this year on KRS! It’s been
a pleasure to find all this info and reactions about Kimi. Regarding this year
that is coming to an end, all I have to say it’s been one of those difficult
years which we don’t wish to see again for Kimi. But at the same time it was
wonderful because the guy hasn’t changed, he’s still the same, as brillant as
usual, and he’s astonished me with how he’s taken this year. More than one would
have blamed the car, the team or anything. But wow, he still kept cool, and
worked hard and kept pushing till the end! One song has made me think of Kimi
the first time I heard it back in 2004 (from a Mercedes benz commercial.)
Christina Aguilera’s "Hello" resumes 2008 for me:
"I may not fit the
mold
May not do what I’m told
I will not be swayed
By the things that
they might say
They may have had their doubts
No matter what I’ve
found
I have held my ground
Look at me, I’m still around
So dream on,
dream on, yeah
Don’t ever let them steer you wrong
When life comes
knocking
Gotta keep on rocking
Open that door and
Shout it to the
world, singing
Hello, hello, ha
Here I am, here I go"

So keep on flying Kimi, and I can’t wait for 2009 to get your number "1"
back, as you’ll always be number 1 for me anyway!
Rashy

The Odd-numbered Year – It wasn’t what any
of us fans (or even Kimi) expected. I think that looking back to last year, we
got more than we could have hoped for, he won both titles in his first year with
the Scuderia, and that was more than enough. What puzzled me is that Ferrari
seemed so strong during the winter tests, that everyone thought it was going to
be fairly “easy” to win the titles again. Appearances can be deceiving. Only two
wins in 2008, so what? This season had its good things and its bad things;
leaving the bad aside, it was more entertaining and eventful than previous
years, infact we’ve had so many different, super talented drivers winning races,
coincidentally, each was their maiden win: Kubica in Montreal, Kovalainen in
Hungary, and Vettel in Monza. And then we had Alonso’s resurrection too, which
was nice to watch. So all in all, the season wasn´t dominated by one or two
drivers. I won´t delve into the’ teams’ subject because I could go on forever,
not to mention Hamilton. (Ok, I’ll only say this – Lulu/Hamster, who he is, the
way he is: we have to deal with it; sometimes we’ll rant, sometimes we’ll want
to kill him and sometimes we’ll laugh at his failures, that’s it! I will never
get tired of saying this; Kimi is simply the best, even when he´s having another
bad year, he remains humble and grateful, never once during the season did he
point the finger at anyone, and he kept saying “we win together, we lose
together." He was robbed of many wins this year, which is probably what hurt the
most, but he still handled things like a true sportsman, like a champion. That´s
what he is and will always be in my heart, no matter whose name is on the WDC
trophy. On a personal level, this was a very enriching year for me; I believe
KRS grew immensly and the sweetest part was to get to know the amazing people I
have, from all over the world, different countries, religions, and opinions, all
to share our one passion: Kimi and F1. Finally, I´d like to thank you Saima for
the umpteenth time: all this is because of you, your commitment to the site, to
the fans and to Kimi,  it is truly admirable. I can´t wait for 2009 to begin and
another exciting F1 year to share with all of you.

KEEP FLYING KIMI – KEEP FLYING EVENSTAR!!!
Soledad

2008 has come to an end for F1. It was a
pretty bitter season for Kimi, his race engineer Chris Dyer and his fans. It
makes it tougher because this is a year that Kimi were the Reigning World
Champion! This year was a season with a lot of punishment which we never
expected.  There were too many unpredictable things which happened, a sad one, a
funny one, a surprising one, a frustrated one, a ridiculous one etc.  More than
50% of the races are not won by the fastest driver, there are so often lucky
winners who won from benefit of another’s problem, for example Kubica,
Kovalainen, Massa, Alonso. In fact Kimi started the season well (except
Melbourne) until Spain, where the world started to change. What makes me feel
bitter and painful is if we look back to the following cases:

Melbourne – Kimi had an engine failure in Q1 wich resulted him not able to
move to Q2. Thus his race was compromised. Monaco – it should be an easy task
for Kimi to do better than 2007 because he only got 1 point that year.  However
the team didn’t sort out his tyres to his car in time before the race which
resulted him with a drive-through penalty. Plus his own mistake in the rain
causes him to crash into Sutil! Montreal – I felt like screaming and knocking
Hamilton’s head after saw his car crash into Kimi’s. Oh my God! How can this
happen? And now it’s rwo consecutive races without a point after Monaco. France
– Kimi looks like he had recovered, but suddenly he had to hand over his win to
Massa after suffering the exhaust problem. Nevermind, the next race will be
better. Britain – Kimi is quick, he was one second behind Hamilton and closing
the gap.  If he maintained the pace looks like the victory will be his. Gosh,
why the team didn’t change his tyres? Oh no, he is slowing … he’s gone. 
Nevermind let’s move on. Unfortunately the nightmare was just starting. Germany,
Hungary, Valencia (pit lane incident – he knocked down a pit crew mechanic and
then an engine blow after few laps!), Spa, Italy and Singapore (with 5 more laps
to go but he ended the race with a crash! My tears dropped after seeing his
pictures, sitting alone near his car, waiting for someone to send him back to
the garage)

Spa – Kimi was hungry for a win. ‘Do or Die’.  He didn’t really think too
much, his eyes were on winning the race. We saw his fighting spirit!  Kimi’s 
start was amazing! He cheers us up by overtaking Massa and Lewis in two laps and
he was leading the race all the way.  Almost everyone believed that he will win
this race, he just needs another 5 minutes! Then rain started to drop, Lewis was
closing in, they fought and fought, and suddenly we saw Kimi’s car crashed! God
is really too cruel to him this season. Speechless. The feeling was just like
falling from heaven to hell. I feel pain, I feel sad for Kimi when we look back
at the number of bad races that Kimi had, as it was 2/3 of the season.
Logically, 2008 should have been an easier year for Kimi than 2007, this is the
second year in Ferrari, he is the Reigning World Champion! Before the season
started, a lot of people saying F2008 was developed according to his liking. In
fact almost the whole F1 world was confident and believed that he is the
favorite for being champion again in this season, he will be leading the
driver’s championship standing from the beginning till the end of the season.

No doubts there are still some sweet memories this season which we feel proud
about Kimi: He won again in Malaysia (my home country) 5 years later after his
first career win in F1 years ago. He got a hat trick of pole, fastest lap and
win in Spain. He’s set 10 fastest laps, tied to the record set by himself and
Michael Schumacher and he seized the DHL fastest lap award at Spa I think even
when there were 5 more races to go. He started to recover his pace since Spa,
and managed to out-qualify Massa to the front row twice consecutively since
Japan. Great result after working hard for better car set-up. He made his own
effort to swap his second place with Massa’s third in China.  He is the Reigning
World Champion but his unselfish performance touched a lot of peoples heart. No
doubt this is not a good and memorial season for Kimi but I believe it
definitely was valuable season for Kimi.  The frustration will make him grow and
become stronger. I wish Kimi a good ending season, and a much stronger 2009! 

We all looking for Kimi’s return next season!
Yuss590

First of all thank you for providing this channel of communication between
all of us, Kimi fans. I believe this season was not a dissapointed one due to
Kimi’s mistakes or that he is not motivated, there were lots of issues that did
not help to score points: reliability of the Ferrari first and foremost, also
our friend Mr. Big Balls did his "job" in Canada and in other races. I trust
that next year will be Kimi’s year again and he will repeat as champion. I keep
my full confidence on him and all I want is to see him smile again as he did in
Brazil 2007.
Warmest regards from this sunny paradise of Mexico… Los
Cabos!!
Maggie

It’s about one year and a half since I first visited your fantastic website.
Since then I come here almost every day. And there are also many Chinese fans
who visit it. We really enjoy your great photos and brilliant highlight videos!
This time I think I should do something to let you know our support, both to you
and Kimi! So I wrote something about my thoughts of the F1 season 2008. Keep
Flying Saima! Keep Flying Kimi!

Australia, Monaco, Singapore, we saw the courage to admit
mistakes;
Malaysia, Spain, France, we witnessed the speed and
modesty;
Bahrain we got a considerate teammate;
Turkey, Monaco, Canada, we
met a tolerant gentleman;
Britain we were moved by the team spirit “we win
and we lose as a team.”
Germany, Hungry, we glimpsed at a fighting
heart;
Europe, Belgium, Italy and Singapore, we bled with the man who never
gives up;
Japan we discerned the king coming back;
China we roared with
blessing and the man who helped the team without any complaints;
Brazil is
still a blank, but we are sure he will keep fighting until the last
second.
This year 2008, we don’t have a world champion. But we’ve obtained a
lot more than the title itself.

It’s the faith.
It’s the spirit.
It’s the motto never fade:
Keep
Flying Kimi!
A Chinese Kimi fan
Wendy
Zhang

I will wish that on this New Year’s Eve, the new season will be like it was.
Next year I will be live at the Monaco or Monza races. I think it will be
awesome at the final race too next year, the first time in Abu Dhabi. Hoping
Kimster will have the trophy in his hands!

Regards from
Croatia!

2008 has not been a great year for the Kimster, but it is the most fruitful
GP season for me: Evenstar, your KRS fansite is totally complete; it helps us to
understand our Kimster and how remarkable his fans support him. Several
incidents/wrong tactics (obviously not Kimster’s fault) made him lose valuable
points in 2008, but I really envied his fighting spirits, he never give up (not
even once) and fought till the end and doing his share as Ferrari’s team member!
Shanghai’s race was the most respectable action from Kimster this season,
letting Massa past him; although he out-qualified Massa in qualifying and also
the race day! “Luck-less” did not hit him again, it was his birthday weekend, so
it let him taste the sweet podium moment again.

I will never stop supporting KIMSTER, not until the day when our ONE AND ONLY
KIMSTER DECIDES TO CALL HIS F1 DAY OFF! THERE AFTER, HE WILL ALWAYS BE AN F1
LEGEND TO ME. KEEP FLYING KIMI. KEEP FLYING EVENSTAR. WE WILL NEVER STOP
SUPPORTING YOU!

Your fan,
NF1011

  I think you guys deserve a round of applause,
not only for being the greatest fans of a Formula One driver ever (in my
opinion) but for the strength you all have. It certainly isn’t easy being a Kimi
Raikkonen supporter. He’s had more bad luck than good. But it’s his silent
determination and unique talent that we fans see which prevails over the gloom
and doom. Each one was a joy to read, eventhough with most I could feel the pain
in them. Thanks to every one of you for sending in your thoughts!
I don’t think I can do any better than what you all have said. But I
will share my own little summary (I hope it doesn’t become too sloppy
but it probably will!)

It
has been an unique year for Formula One; there has been more wet races
than usual and three first time winners. It was going to be a difficult
year, being the reigning world champion or not. For Kimi, he approached
this season the same way as he’s always done and there’s no point in
complaining now. Despite winning the championship with Ferrari in his
first year in 2007, this was the team who has had to continue without
key figures Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and obviously Michael Schumacher.
There were going to be hiccups. There were going to be mistakes. It’s
all part of the game. The thing we can be proud of though is that Kimi
never flaunted his world champion status within the team. He likes to
race fair. He never did pay much attention to his teammates, so what
made us think that he thought he should be preferred by Ferrari over
Massa? He didn’t feel he needed to. Sometimes, the flaw of Kimi how
he’s always been relying on his talent alone, to win races and
championships. It seems to work most of the time, and this year was no
different. He was out-performing Massa and was leading the championship
after fives races. But up until the mid-season developement process on
the F2008, things went downhill and this significantly meant costing
Kimi qualifying positions, the races and points. This was all part of
the learning process in a new team, a new car. This wasn’t Fernando
Alonso and Renault, the team who aren’t shy about expressing their love
and 100% commitment to eachother. They backed Alonso 100% into 2006 to
make sure he won a consecutive title. They were successful. With
Ferrari, most assumed with their history with Schumacher that they
would undoubtedly favour Kimi now that he officially got the No.1 on
his car. Kimi will lose that after this weekend in Brazil, but he won’t
lose confidence. The only thing he lost this year was a number. But, he
gained a lot. Perhaps his race at Spa was a historic day for Kimi from
a fan’s perspective, despite the result. That was the story of 2008.
Kimi was in great position, flying high, but fate meant it wasn’t meant
to be. Whether that’s hi fault, Ferrari’s fault, Hamilton’s fault,
whatever, it doesn’t matter and that’s why he never dwelled on it. He
never thought "hang on, I really didn’t deserve that, I hate
everybody!" and let it affect him. He said he’s seen a lot in Formula
One and he’s right. I was one of the first to say this is definately
Kimi’s year, he’s world champion yeah, he’s gonna do it again, he’s had
a year’s experience with Ferrari and etc. What I failed to realise is
that the future mattered. And we learnt so much about him. We’ll always
have memories of the past to reflect on, but what Kimi has shown this
year was brand new to me, as most of you have also expressed.

Despite the bad moments, he’s maintained a good relationship with his
team and teammate, crucially, which will pay off this weekend. He’s
maintained his true racer’s spirit, also having taken the most fastest
laps of the season (which has only been finally recognised by the DHL
Fastest Lap award since 2007, that he also won). There were moments
where he shone (Malaysia, Spain, France, Spa, Fuji, China) and the
point to make out here it that these races weren’t just at the
beginning of the season. They were all throughout. Kimi’s been there
the whole time. Fighting through the obstacles, although silently. He
might have been out of the spotlight but he was the star in the
distance, not covered by total darkness but just a passing moment.
Moments like these make you realise why exactly you’ve been supporting
this driver for six years. Sometimes, bad things really do need to
happen for good to find a way. In Kimi’s case, the bad luck, mistakes
and wrong decisions made throughout the year. We’ve learnt a lot, and
there’s no doubt that Kimi has learnt a lot too. Ferrari have learnt
more about their special driver. Kimi’s already a strong driver, having
spent five years in a heaven/hell story at McLaren. So this year, he’s
become even stronger from it. It’s frustrating for us because we wish
he can just show what he’s made of for once and for all. But I’m sure
next year will bring further reasons for why we love this racer, so of
course we will will forward excitedly. It’s been an honour to be a Kimi
Raikkonen fan in 2008. Keep Flying Kimi!