Kimi Raikkonen reacted to his first win in over five-and-a-half years as only he could after taking the chequered flag at the United States Grand Prix.
It was a drive of a veteran at the Circuit of the Americas as he gained his first position at the start since Abu Dhabi 2016 into Turn 1, passing Lewis Hamilton thanks to his Ultrasoft tyres.
Then, when Mercedes looked to have regained the impetus by pitting the Briton under an early Virtual Safety Car, the Finn held up Lewis for several laps before his only stop, making up the time he had lost in the process.
And when Hamilton had to pit for a second time after pushing his tyres too hard, Kimi was there to capitalise and break the record for the longest run between victories at 113 races.
“It’s been a great weekend, the car has been pretty good all the time,” he said in Parc Ferme. “We had enough speed and kept it consistent. I needed to push hard and look after the tyres.
“It’s been a long time but here we are again.”
His usual ‘Iceman’ self, the 39-year-old, who declared “f**king finally” over the radio on his in-lap, was far from getting carried away despite obvious satisfaction.
“I’m much happier than finishing second… I’m happy,” he stated.
And on the ultimately decisive battle with Hamilton to keep his victory chances alive, Kimi concluded: “It was a great and good battle, that’s what we all want as drivers and the people here.”
It certainly was.