Kimi Raikkonen will retire from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season, closing out a 20-year professional racing career.
"This is it," Raikkonen said in an Instagram post Wednesday, "This will be my last season in Formula One." The Finn said he made the decision over the F1 winter break.
Raikkonen, who will be 42 at the end of the season, started his F1 career in 2001 with Sauber. He returned to the team, which is now branded Alfa Romeo, in 2019. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season. He's currently the oldest active F1 driver, just ahead of 40-year-old Fernando Alonso, who was one of Raikkonen's main championship rivals in the early 2000s.
Kimi Raikkonen
Known as "The Iceman" for his laconic personality, Raikkonen initially moved from Sauber to McLaren, and then Ferrari, where he won the 2007 F1 drivers' championship. He later took a two-year break from F1, which included stints in rallying and even NASCAR, before returning in 2012 with Lotus.
After two seasons at Lotus, Raikkonen returned to Ferrari, scoring what is currently his most recent win at the 2018 United States Grand Prix with the Scuderia. He decamped to Alfa Romeo the following season, effectively switching seats with Charles LeClerc, and has remained there ever since, partnering with Antonio Giovinazzi. Alfa hasn't discussed its 2022 driver lineup.
Raikkonen has started 344 Grands Prix to date, with 21 wins, 103 podiums, and 18 pole positions. However, he's currently 17th in the driver standings, having scored just two points, with 10 races to go in the season.