Remembering F1 champion's final career victory at US GP

As F1 heads to Austin for the United States Grand Prix, it marks six years since an F1 fan favourite clinched the 21st and final grand prix victory of his career, at the Circuit of the Americas.

Long before Kimi Antonelli was a name on the lips of F1 journalists, there was a different Kimi who took the pinnacle of motorsport by storm.

After debuting impressively in 2001, Kimi Raikkonen went on to McLaren and Ferrari, where he won the 2007 F1 drivers' championship. After a brief sabbatical in WRC, he returned to F1 with Lotus.

That re-earned him his drive at the Scuderia for 2014, but he would ultimately be unable to reclaim his former glory. 

However, prior to joining Alfa Romeo to see out his time in F1, the often-aloof Finnish driver, known for his deadpan demeanour and comical radio messages, got to experience victory one final time at the 2018 United States Grand Prix.

Race-defining first corner

A regular podium finisher during his last two years with the Italian team, Raikkonen and Ferrari put a winning strategy together at COTA to see off the threat of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

The then-39-year-old had qualified his Ferrari in third, but a grid penalty for team-mate Sebastian Vettel for failing to slow sufficiently during a red flag in FP1 saw Raikkonen elevated to a front-row start, alongside Hamilton.

Starting on the now-discarded purple-walled ultra-soft tyres, the Finn got the better launch, sliding up the inside of the British driver into Turn 1.

As chaos ensued behind through the course of a messy first lap, including a spin for his team-mate, Raikkonen settled into the race and the lead.

Unbelievably, it was the first time since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix he had made a position up on the opening lap.

By lap 9 of the 56-lap race, his lead was a comfortable, if unspectacular, one-and-a-half seconds over Hamilton, but a Daniel Ricciardo-retirement induced virtual safety car provided the first twist of the afternoon.

Two laps later, with the VSC still deployed, the Mercedes driver was told to "box opposite Raikkonen", meaning do whatever the Ferrari driver did not as the pair approached pit entry.

The 2007 drivers' champion tried to dummy his successor, but to no avail. Hamilton strapped on a set of yellow-walled soft Pirellis, as they were then, and set after the Finn having secured a cheap pit stop.

The right strategy

Naturally concerned by the situation, Raikkonen was quickly told by Ferrari that the Mercedes driver was "most likely" on a two-stopper.

By lap 21, Hamilton was again on his tail. An excellent half-lap duel ensued between the pair, which was unfortunately cut short by the Finnish driver himself pitting for the only time that afternoon.

At the end of lap 37, with Hamilton's lead cut down to seven seconds or so, the then-four-time drivers' champion came in, releasing Raikkonen to manage the race from the front once more.

The two-stop strategy proved flawed, with the Briton unable to work his way past Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who started P18. The pair closed right up to the Ferrari, but were unable to challenge for the victory.

Raikkonen ultimately crossed the line 1.2 seconds clear of the Dutchman, taking a first win in 113 grand prix. In doing so, he broke the record for longest gap between triumphs.

Jumping on to his radio shortly after crossing the line, he exclaimed "fucking finally" as he thanked his Ferrari team in true Raikkonen style.