The origins of Kimi Raikkonen’s infamous nickname that took Ron Dennis ‘a lot of time’ to create

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Kimi Raikkonen is the last driver to win the Formula 1 world championship with Ferrari. The Finn finally won the title in 2007.

Making his debut with Sauber in 2001, the 45-year-old moved to McLaren the following year to partner David Coulthard who Raikkonen said was his best teammate in F1.

It was with the Woking-based outfit that the Finn showed how talented he was. His blistering speed and daring overtakes – including Raikkonen’s stunning overtake on Alonso at Suzuka in 2005 – made him a form title contender.

But he could not get over the final hurdle with McLaren, finishing second to Michael Schumacher in 2003 and Fernando Alonso in 2005.

After a winless 2006 season, Raikkonen moved to Ferrari after Schumacher’s retirement in 2007 and immediately mounted a title challenge. After a tense battle with the McLarens of Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, the Finn grabbed his only championship by just one point.

Kimi Raikkonen joked with Ron Dennis that he came up with his ‘Iceman’ nickname through Top Gun

Raikkonen was never able to return to the same competitiveness after his 2007 title triumph, briefing leaving F1 in 2010. He returned two years later before ending his career for good in 2021 – he grabbed 21 wins, 18 pole positions and 103 podiums across his career.

As well as his speed and talent on track, Raikkonen was also well-known for – or perhaps infamously well-known for – his cool and silent demeanour around the paddock.

Raikkonen never said a thing in driver briefings because he had no interest in the political side of F1. His stone-cold personality earned him the nickname ‘the Iceman’.

READ MORE: Kimi Raikkonen once slated Ferrari fans for what they did to Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix

But speaking with the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Raikkonen shared that the name was given to him by Ron Dennis at McLaren. The 45-year-old said that he used to joke to the ex-McLaren boss that he came up with the name through Top Gun – a reference to Val Kilmer’s character Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.

“Yeah, I don’t know but that’s what they came up [with] and they said: ‘Oh, this would fit you well’ or something and I said: ‘Ok no problem’, said Raikkonen.

“And that’s how it started but actually it’s been good. I always joked [that] maybe he looked a lot [for inspiration] of Top Gun, the movie but it works well. So thanks to him”.

Why Kimi Raikkonen was ‘very happy’ to leave F1 in 2009

Raikkonen failed to defend his title in 2008 as he finished third in the standings behind champion Hamilton and teammate Felipe Massa.

The radical changes to the regulations in 2009 saw Ferrari fall behind in performance. Raikkonen won the Belgian GP as the team picked it up in the second half of the season, but by then, his future with the team was already decided.

Ferrari signed Alonso in 2010, to replace Raikkonen, with the Finn having offers from the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Toyota, but nothing materialised. Raikkonen was ‘very happy’ to leave F1 as he had ‘zero interest’ in the sport.

The Finn returned in 2012 with Lotus before moving back to Ferrari in 2014. He spent another five years at Maranello before going full circle and returning to Sauber to finish his career with the team.

Hamilton was baffled that Ferrari let Raikkonen leave again in 2018, citing him as one of his ‘favourite drivers’.