Mattia Binotto and Kimi Raikkonen have reached the highest level of their respective careers within the team Ferrari, still part of the professional life of the Emilian manager today. The latter, who became team principal in 2019 after holding the position of Technical Director, had previously been promoted as chief engineer of the Cavallino In the 2007, the same year in which the Finnish driver arrived in Maranello. Moreover, Iceman he immediately succeeded in fulfilling his dream of becoming world champion in that season, the last one that saw a world championship success by a Ferrari driver, as well as the first and only one for Raikkonen. Fourteen years later, the 42-year-old from Espoo has put an end to his experience in Formula 1, but not to the more than positive consideration that Binotto still has towards him.
Interviewed by speedweek.comthe 52-year-old wanted to praise the qualities of the former Alfa Romeo driver, especially from a human point of view: “I’ve known Kimi for a long time now, I think more than fourteen years – he has declared – he has always been a fantastic and very fast driver. Other than that, however, he is also a great man. He is one of the few in the paddock that I consider a friend, because Kimi can always be trusted. He is very respectful, even if he doesn’t say much. His behavior shows that he is a great person, and that is why he will be missed in the whole paddock ”. In confirmation of Binotto’s words, moreover, there was also the consideration of a former teammate of the Finn as Fernando Alonsowho found himself together with the Finn in Ferrari on the occasion of the 2014 world championship: “We will miss Kimi – he added – I have come to know him as a fundamentally honest man, who does away with all gimmicks. What he sees or what he says is part of the business. To some people he may have seemed cold or taciturn, but there was always a completely different person asleep inside him, not the same as the ice man at all. In reverse, Raikkonen is a warm hearted personbut it is probable that the real Kimi can only be known away from the circuits ”.
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