Kimi Raikkonen will be the senior statesman for the 2020 Grid. Aged 40 and with 312 starts to his name, he’s by far the most experienced active driver. The Alfa Romeo driver also began to support and guide his son with go-karts

Speaking on what it means to be a parent and supporting their child racing, Kimi Raikkonen commented on Yahoo Sports.

“It has changed a lot in my life because without those kids I would have had a very different life. Of course, racing takes a lot of time, but that has never been the most important thing in my life. The children are now. Not every day is fun, but that’s how life goes. My goal in life has now changed,”

”The moment you become a father, you will start to worry more about your standard. That is not always nice, but it is part of it. The fact that our son is now going to go-karting does not help that of course. I know all the dangers involved, but you don’t see them as a child. Only now do I understand my parents’ concerns in the past and it is terrible; I now do it myself.”

Kimi Raikkonen himself made his go-kart debut aged 10. Five years later, he was competing internationally. It would be five more years, until he finally moved to open-car racing. Between 1999-2000 he competed in 23 Formula Renault races before making his Formula One debut in 2001.

Robin Raikkonen, Kimi’s 4 year old son has started to enter the go-karting sphere much earlier than his father. In August 2019  Robin got his first taste of a go kart on a damp track. The young Finn performed admirably. Raikkonen subsequently posted a picture of his daughter Rianna in a motionless go kart, promising that she will join in a few years. Robin is planned to have his competitive go-kart debut in the summer.