Family matter
Last week the news became official of the signing by Red Bull’s famous young driver program of Robin Raikkonen, son of the 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen. This ‘market coup’ – although it is obviously necessary to remember that we are talking about an 11-year-old child – has obviously intrigued many motorsport enthusiasts, even of a certain age, who remember very well the career of dad Kimi. During the weekend that F1 raced in Madrid, the topic was also teased to the driver who most represents the success of Red Bull’s youth project, Max Verstappen.
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The four-time world champion spoke with the Dutch TV Viaplay and was asked for an opinion about Robin, who by the way has Verstappen as his idol: “Give him some advice? I think he already gets great advice from his father – joked Verstappen, who raced against Kimi in F1 from 2015 to 2021, in the early part of his career and the final part of the Finn’s career – I exchanged a few words with them also before the Monza race, since they were present. It’s nice to see him; I knew he was about to sign the contract. Of course, for a boy it’s fantastic to sign with a Formula 1 team, but in the end what really matters is performance. You have to focus on what’s in front of you in karting; I’m sure he and Kimi talk about it often, so it’s not something I need to worry about“.
The ‘similarities’ with Max
“They are very focused on performance and on making sure he learns and constantly improves – Verstappen added – I also like the fact that he participates in different types of races: it doesn’t matter what the vehicle is, Kimi puts him on it and he does his job. It’s nice to see, because it reminds me a bit of how I grew up: I raced with anything, it didn’t matter what the vehicle was. I think it’s fundamental for one’s growth and for car control in general. It’s really a great thing. And it’s fantastic that he is part of the Red Bull family; I obviously hope he continues to grow and improve year after year“.
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Verstappen was also questioned on the subject during the traditional press conference that started the weekend: “If I will still be on track to challenge Robin? Who knows, maybe yes, maybe no – replied the #3 of Red Bull, with a joke – I imagine in the end they will need a seat for him in the team, so maybe then I will decide“.
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