After Ferrari signed two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Felipe Massa for 2010, Raikkonen's name was linked with a move to a number of F1 teams; McLaren being the most likely. But with Jenson Button's move to create the British 'dream team' at McLaren, the 2007 world champion will now take a sabbatical.

Listed by Forbes as the second highest paid athlete in the world behind Tiger Woods in 2009, Raikkonen's salary demands were too great for the likes of McLaren, and when it was reported that he would earn US$25 from Ferrari in 2010 should he take a year off, it seemed the obvious option.

Nicknamed 'the Iceman', for his cool, unflappable character, Raikkonen showed talent from an early age and made his karting debut at ten. He progressed through the lower formula; Formula Ford, Formula Super A and Formula Renault. In 2000 he won seven out of ten races to win the Formula Renault UK Championship.

His form was enough to merit a test drive with Sauber in September 2000, and he was given a race seat for the 2001 season, with just 23 car races under his belt. Nonetheless, he joined an elite group of drivers to have scored points on their F1 debut, finishing sixth in Melbourne. Raikkonen picked up nine points in his rookie season, and secured a move to McLaren, taking the place of former world champion and fellow Finn, Mika Hakkinen. Despite technical issues blighting his season, he ended the year sixth, enjoying his first ever podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen's first race win came in Malaysia in 2003, beating second-placed Rubens Barrichello by an impressive 39 seconds after qualifying seventh. He took ten podium's that season, sealing second place in the drivers' standings, just two points behind Michael Schumacher, who won the title for the sixth time.

After a disappointing 2004 season, scoring just 45 points compared to his previous year's 91, 2005 saw Raikkonen win seven races and score 112 points, equalling Alan Prost's 1984 record of the most wins in a season without winning the title.

After five years with McLaren, Raikkonen joined Ferrari in 2007 to replace Michael Schumacher. Far from being nervous about replacing the seven-time world champion, he went on to win the title in his first year at Ferrari, beating Lewis Hamilton by a single point at the final race of the season. However, an investigation into fuel irregularities meant he had to wait nearly a month to be confirmed as champion.

He failed to retain his drivers' crown the following year, finishing third behind Hamilton and team-mate Felipe Massa. A disappointing 2009 season followed, with the Ferrari struggling for pace in the opening part of the season, he managed just one race victory, in Spa, finishing sixth in the championship.

In September 2009 Ferrari confirmed a deal with Alonso, meaning Raikkonen would leave Ferrari with a year remaining on his contract - leaving him to enjoy a lucrative gap-year most likely honing his skills in a rally car.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Undoubtedly gifted, Raikkonen's laid back approach to racing is well known, saying, "I never really think about what I'm doing, I just do it". Before his debut race in Australia in 2001, Raikkonen was asleep until half an hour before the race. With his reputation as a playboy, Raikkonen's salary and lifestyle may now be too much for a sport struggling out of a recession.

Career High
Winning the 2007 world championship in his first year at Ferrari. Going into the final race of the season in Brazil, Raikkonen was third in the drivers' standings, but in a dramatic ending, Raikkonen won the race ahead of team-mate Massa. Rivals Alonso and Hamilton could only manage third and seventh respectively, and the Finn won his first title by a single point.

Career Low
After finishing third in Hungary in August 2008, Raikkonen was second in the drivers' standings, just five points behind leader Hamilton. At the following race at Spa he was forced to retire with an engine problem, and he failed to finish in the points in the subsequent three races, effectively ending his chances of defending his title.

Quotes
""What I do in my private life doesn't make me drive any slower." "Kimi lives in another world; on another planet. He isolates himself. If he feels pressure, then it's only because he has put it on himself. Nothing that is coming from the outside affects him at all - and that is unbelievable." Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali

Trivia
Despite the fact that Raikkonen's wife, Jenni Dahlman-Raikkonen owns four horses and competes in international events, Raikkonen is allergic to horses.

Jo Carter November 2009