Kimi Raikkonen has played down the significance of his victory at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Finn ended five-year and seven months wait to stand on the top step again as he stuck to his task to beat Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, a gap that also saw the most races ever between wins for a single driver at 113.
Never one to get carried away, Kimi admitted he felt “happier than finishing second” immediately afterwards and later insisted it was nothing to get excited about.
“It’s not a big deal for me, it’s a much bigger deal for a lot of the people,” he said, with Formula 1 fans largely overjoyed to see the 2007 champion take the checkered flag.
“If it comes, it comes; if it doesn’t, it really doesn’t change my life one bit. I’m happy we are here and that we win but I think the biggest difference is the way people look at you.
“If you look at people in a different way if they win or not, it doesn’t make a lot of difference in my mind.
“But obviously I’m happy, just proving some people wrong it’s enough fun for me.”
His Austin triumph was his 21st over a near-18-year career and could well be his last with three more races at Ferrari before joining Sauber for 2019.
