Kimi Raikkonen: "The dream come true"

Kimi Raikkonen made his return to Europe yesterday afternoon with a flight arriving in Zurich. These are his first impressions as world champion. "I'm so happy it almost hurts! It's a dream come true, something I've been chasing since I was a child.
I was seven years old the first time I saw a track: it was an old and small karting circuit, called Bembole, which was five kilometers from where I lived. It had become a second home for me. Now, 22 years later, there are many tracks that I can say are my favorites but the most important has become Interlagos, more than five thousand kilometers from home!"

"I had always said that my career goal was to become world champion. I had come close a couple of times and, in the end, things went the right way. We always gave our all to try to win. For to do it in sport you have to push harder and harder, until the end. You never know what can happen in the race, just look at what happened in the last three Grands Prix and everyone knows what I mean. At Fuji for us it's It was terrible: we were relegated to the back of the group and our race practically ended almost immediately.
We left Japan with a gap of 17 points, without the possibility of fighting. I think I could have bet that no more than ten people outside the team believed in our chances of final victory but that didn't mean we gave up. In a way, we believe in miracles. China was our wild card: we won and whoever was at the top of the table didn't score any points. It gave us a bit of hope but there weren't many chances available anyway. The last race was really exciting. There were no withdrawals among the top four but a long-distance battle between us and our direct rivals. I made perhaps the best start of the season and maybe I could have even passed Felipe at the first corner but we had a plan that certainly didn't include a fight with my teammate. Then I saw in the mirrors that Hamilton was alongside Alonso at Turn 3, before suffering the technical problem that relegated him to the back of the group.
Then I realized that we had the chance we were hoping for: that first lap seemed to have become decisive for the championship."

"It was a great race and I think I have never experienced better sensations inside the cockpit: everything worked perfectly, almost as if it were a birthday present from the angels! We could have gone even faster and I want to thank Felipe again for all the help and support he gave me: he did everything that could be done, like a perfect teammate. As a team we couldn't have done better than the double but, once we crossed the finish line, the the most important thing was to understand what Hamilton was doing. I asked for news on the radio but, for a few seconds, there was silence: then, finally, Chris told me he was seventh and then my heart almost went flames for joy! That's it: I'm world champion now!"
"I want to thank everyone who has been close to me over the years, all my fans. I thank the team: it's wonderful to be part of the greatest team of all time. This year I enjoyed Formula 1 more than ever. I haven't done in the previous six seasons combined. I dreamed of winning the title with Ferrari and I bet this is every driver's dream. This group never stops: they work hard, without ever giving up. We've had some difficult moments but we have always managed to get back on top and this shows the quality of the people. Once again, thank you! And I also want to thank the sponsors and partners: together with them we have a world champion package!"

Now the World Finals await me at Mugello, the moment of celebration with all Ferrari: it's my first time and I couldn't have arrived at a more beautiful moment. Then, finally, the holidays, the first as a world champion."

Ferrari