“However it’s good. [It’s] fascinating to see at all times the way it goes. It seems to be like issues are getting nearer now within the racing, so it’s good for F1 and all of the followers.”
What Kimi thinks of F1’s subsequent Kimi
Talking of followers, the arrival of one other ‘Kimi’ in F1 has sparked loads of curiosity amongst onlookers – with affirmation that Kimi Antonelli will make his debut for Mercedes subsequent 12 months approaching the identical day Raikkonen set foot within the paddock once more.
ANALYSIS: Why Mercedes selected to take a threat and signal 18-year-old Antonelli for 2025
It signifies that Italy shall be represented on the F1 grid for the primary time since 2021, when Antonio Giovinazzi partnered Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo, and the latter is intrigued to see how the extremely rated 18-year-old will get on.
“Yeah, I heard! Once we got here right here, any individual stated that they introduced it!” Raikkonen chuckles, earlier than pointing to the inflow of recent expertise on the way in which for 2025, which incorporates Ferrari-backed Oliver Bearman at Haas and Jack Doohan at Alpine.
“It’s nice. Plenty of new faces, I feel, coming subsequent 12 months, quite a lot of new drivers which were signed to F1. It’s good for the game, and it’s additionally nice to have an Italian within the championship. It’s good for everyone, I feel.”