Kimi Raikkonen isn't showing any signs of regretting his decision to walk away from Formula 1 at the end of 2021. The Finn is calling time on a career of more than two decades at the top level, with the 42-year-old concluding that now is the right time to retire to be with his young family at home in Switzerland. Raikkonen's F1 career will conclude in Abu Dhabi next weekend and, despite the finish now being in sight, was his usual taciturn self when asked about whether he feels any sadness. "No, why would you get emotional about it?" Raikkonen told accredited media, including RacingNews365.com , when asked about whether reality is hitting home. "I'm looking really forward, I'm happy that it is soon over, so nothing sad, nothing bad about it. I think it's good." As for whether he plans on watching the races in 2022 when he's not busy on a Sunday, Raikkonen laughed. "I'm sure not, but probably... I'm sure I'll see some of them" he added. "I don't know fully, but we'll see what happens. I doubt that I'll put on an alarm clock to make sure that I don't miss it, but I'm sure I'll see some of them."
Signing off on his career
In the week before heading to Saudi Arabia, Raikkonen visited the Alfa Romeo factory in Hinwil. Accompanied by his wife Minttu and his children, he was given a big send-off by the team with which he began his F1 career back in 2001. Asked about the night, which saw Alfa Romeo staff pay tribute to the 2007 World Champion, Raikkonen said it had been very pleasant. "It was great, it was nice to see all the people," he commented. "It will be the last time I go there, so I went with the family and stayed there for a while and saw the people and signed quite a bit of stuff for them! But it was nice, it was good." With this weekend's event at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit marking his penultimate Grand Prix, Raikkonen said he plans to enjoy the moment. "As any race, we will try to do as well as we can," added Raikkonen. "It's a new track and we'll see what happens. We'll do the normal stuff so, hopefully, we'll get a decent result and have some fun on the way!"
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