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Kimi Raikkonen

Revisited: Huge Raikkonen crash ends McLaren test early

A regular day of testing for McLaren ended in disaster for the team this day 20 years ago!

Raikkonen crash 2005
Throwback
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The 2005 season saw McLaren enter the MP4-20 challenger into the championship - it was a car that was incredibly fast, but had very poor reliability.

On the build-up to the season, Kimi Raikkonen jumped behind the wheel ahead of his fourth season with the Woking-based squad.

The Finn was testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on this day 20 years ago - but the plans McLaren had in place soon went down the drain.

An issue with the braking system caused Raikkonen to skid off the track and impact the barrier at high speed.

The accident completely destroyed the left side of the car, which can be seen in the photos below.

The significance of the damage meant McLaren could not conduct out any more testing that day as the mechanics carried out repairs to the challenger.

Raikkonen was reported to be dazed in the accident and suffered a bruised thumb - thankfully, it did not significantly impact his preparations for the new season.

McLaren concluded debris got struck between the brake calliper and the inside of the rim, resulting in the failure.

The car would go on to win 10 races that year, seven of which came through Raikkonen.

However, he missed out on the title to Renault's Fernando Alonso, who bested the 'Iceman' by 21 points.

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