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Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that he was close to signing Kimi Raikkonen when he was team principal at Force India.
Szafnauer, 61, joined Force India back in October 2009 and played a key role in improving the team’s performance.
After finishing seventh in 2010 and sixth in 2011, 2013 and 2014, Force India broke into the top five in 2015. They then finished fourth in 2016 and 2017.
Szafnauer stayed with the team when it rebranded to Racing Point and Aston Martin, but eventually left to join Alpine in 2022.
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Otmar Szafnauer recalls trying to sign Kimi Raikkonen for Force India
Speaking recently on the High Performance Racing podcast, Szafnauer revealed that Force India ‘nearly signed’ Raikkonen at a Red Bull party.
Szafnauer stated that he met with Raikkonen in a hotel in Brazil before being invited to a Red Bull party.
However, Raikkonen eventually opted to reject Force India and instead signed for Lotus.
Szafnauer explained: “Nearly signed Kimi Raikkonen to Force India before he went to Lotus. Brazil, can’t remember the year, last race.
“I had to meet Kimi at the Hyatt in Morumbi, that’s where we’re all staying. It was like a Japanese restaurant, so I met him with two of his buddies. I tried to convince him to come to Force India.
“He said, ‘Okay, end of the season and come and talk to me’, his two buddies, I think, were the founders of Angry Birds.
“So Raikkonen says, ‘Right, let’s go talk at the Red Bull party’. Red Bull were having a massive party at the end of the season. We get there, I think we’re not going to get in, the crowds were huge.”
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He continued: “They recognised Kimi, so, ‘Kimi, right this way’, they open up all the tensators and Kimi waited for every one of us to get in before he stepped through.
“As it turns out, I couldn’t convince him to come to Force India. It was a bit of everything. You have to convince drivers, too, that the future looks rosier than the other offers that they have.
“To be fair to him, he went to Lotus at a time when they won more races than we did. So, they were better at that point. I think they still had James Allison there at that time.”
Raikkonen, 46, is one of the best drivers of his generation, having raced for teams like Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Alfa Romeo before retiring in 2021.
After rejecting Force India, Raikkonen raced for Lotus from 2012 to 2013 before rejoining Ferrari ahead of the 2014 season.
During his career, Raikkonen secured 21 wins and 103 podium finishes. His best season came in 2007, when he won the world title as a Ferrari driver.
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