The news is a bit surprising, knowing the person we are talking about. Not even two months after his last race in Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen has returned to the racing world. For the way he had left, that is almost with a sense of liberation, we would not have expected to see Iceman in a paddock for at least some time, and instead, as usual, the Finn has surprised us. The sport is also surprising because Kimi Raikkonen wants to be the team principal of the official Kawasaki team in MXGP. From Formula 1, synonymous with cleanliness with pit garages that increasingly resemble operating theaters, to the mud of motocross. Kimi doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s no secret that, for me, one of my great passions in life for many years has been motocross but this team is not what you might call a hobby; it’s very serious, very focused and we aspire to be the best we possibly can. Now I have retired from racing I will be able to spend more time on this project, not on the daily issues but more from a strategic point of view using my experience of how teams work and what creates success on the world stage. Everyone including myself is delighted that Kawasaki has chosen us to be the Factory team. I know that the chance of success is always greater with direct factory support so this translates into a great opportunity for us as the new Kawasaki Racing Team in MXGP.”
These are the words of Iceman who will have Romain Febrve and Ben Watson as his riders in his first experience as a team manager.