Formula 1
Sauber looking to Raikkonen in 2001
Peter Sauber, the principal of the Sauber team, has indicated that his choice for a second driver for the 2001 Formula One season is Kimi Raikkonen, the 21-year-old Finn who tested for the team earlier this year. Raikkonen, however, presents a ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Peter Sauber, the principal of the Sauber team, has indicated that his choice for a second driver for the 2001 Formula One season is Kimi Raikkonen, the 21-year-old Finn who tested for the team earlier this year.
Raikkonen, however, presents a dilemma: he has not yet qualified for the superlicence required to drive in Formula One. The licence is normally given automatically to CART, F3000 and major F3 championship winners, but Raikkonen has yet to drive a race in any of those three categories.
This young man has had an impressive season and won the British Formula Renault championship in dominant fashion, but, to date, he only has a grand total of 23 races under his belt -- an unprecedented number for someone looking to race at the Grand Prix level.
However, Raikkonen showed a great deal of speed and talent when he tested for the Swiss team in two separate sessions in September. After only a few days at the wheel of a Formula One car, he was setting lap times faster than Sauber's usual test driver, Enrique Bernoldi ... and staying on the track.
Sauber and Raikkonen now have to convince the FIA that the Finn is capable and qualified, and should be granted a superlicence. Max Mosley has indicated his reluctance to granting a licence to such an inexperience driver, but Mosley is not on the actual committee.
Raikkonen is expected to drive a 300 km test under the supervision of FIA officials, and will be required to show error-free driving with consistent lap times. FIA will then make a decision on the licence in December.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Erik Comas debuts in Rally Australia
Next article IRL: Three champions had success at Indy
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
More from
Sauber
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe