Helmut Marko explains why he opposed the signing of Kimi Raikkonen when Red Bull sponsored Sauber

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull were involved in Formula 1 long before they made their debut in 2005. In fact, they had already been the title sponsors of the Sauber team for a decade by that point.

That gave Helmut Marko the platform to field some of the drivers he’d signed for Red Bull’s fledgling academy. The system went on to produce all-time greats like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

At the turn of the century, Enrique Bernoldi was able to test for the Swiss outfit. Bernoldi had had an exciting junior career, winning the 1996 Formula Renault championship and finishing as runner-up in British F3 two years later.

With Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz leaving ahead of the 2001 season, Marko pushed for Bernoldi to get the drive full-time. But in the end, the seat went to a 21-year-old Kimi Raikkonen.

Helmut Marko thought Enrique Bernoldi was more prepared for F1 than Kimi Raikkonen

In a recent interview on the F1-Insider YouTube channel, Marko was asked why he opposed the signing of Raikkonen. It meant he would skip some of the traditional rungs on the junior ladder.

Raikkonen had won the 10-round British Formula Renault series in 2000 but hadn’t proven himself on a continental or global stage. Nonetheless, Peter Sauber’s instincts proved to be correct.

The ‘Iceman’ finished inside the top 10 in his first-ever season, performing so well that he earned a blockbuster move to McLaren for 2002. He would go on to become a world champion with Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Bernoldi got his chance in F1 with Arrows, failing to score a point before dropping out of the series at the end of his second season. A future test driver for BAR/Honda, he mostly raced on four wheels afterwards.

“He had a blank slate in a very low category – I think it was Formula Renault,” Marko said of Raikkonen. “Bernoldi had already driven in Formula 2, and we made the decision because he was the first junior to show speed, but in retrospect, it was just the wrong decision.”

Kimi Raikkonen’s first F1 weekend summed up his entire career

Marko was immediately left red-faced as Raikkonen finished sixth on his debut in Australia. But his team were worried he wouldn’t race at all.

Sauber staff frantically searched for Raikkonen beforehand, only to discover that he’d fallen asleep before the race. His rivals were about to complete their warm-up laps when they found him.

• READ MORE: He is the driver Red Bull backed instead of Kimi Raikkonen but failed to score a point during his Formula 1 career

This epitomised the carefree demeanour that he carried throughout his F1 career. He seemed immune to feeling nerves, even in the highest-pressure moments.

Marko wasn’t the only F1 figure who was reluctant to recruit him. 10 years on, Frank Williams rejected Raikkonen, who had decided to make a comeback after his 2009 ‘retirement’, because he didn’t feel his eponymous team were ready for a driver of that calibre.