In many ways, Kimi Raikkonen, the reigning world champion and winner of the Malaysian Grand Prix last month, is a throwback to another era. He would have fit in perfectly several decades ago with the courageous, no-nonsense drivers who made no fuss as long as they got to race but who also liked to spend time off the track having fun, partying, enjoying life.

In other ways, Raikkonen is the perfect corporate Formula One driver of today, never saying anything controversial to upset his team or the sponsors. That, on the other hand, is not something that this 28-year-old Finnish driver for Ferrari has to work at. It's part of his strong-silent-type character, as reflected in his nickname, "The Iceman."

That character is what allowed him last season to pull off the biggest reversal of fortune since the Formula One series began. Starting the last race of the season in third place in the series, he won the race and the title. It was the first time that a driver started the last race of the season from third place in the standings and won the title since Giuseppe Farina did so in 1950, the series' inaugural year.

Spend a little time with Raikkonen, however, and the man who emerges is of such disconcerting simplicity and naturalness that it soon becomes apparent why he is capable of winning races and championships no matter what the odds.

"We kept working hard and improving things and we came back," he said in an interview, referring to his comeback from a 17-point deficit in the last two races to win the title by 1 point. He denied that it had anything to do with luck.

"Many people would have given up at that point," Raikkonen said.

He proved to Ferrari not only that he was worth the millions of dollars the team had paid to get him from McLaren Mercedes but also what he could do after twice failing to win the title by the slimmest of margins with McLaren in 2003 and 2005.

It all comes back to that strong mental state. Nothing ruffles Raikkonen. Both he and his Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, started their careers in Formula One at the Sauber team. Raikkonen began racing there in 2001 after taking part in only 23 car races in other series, although he had spent years racing go-karts. Massa began at Sauber the next year, when Raikkonen moved to McLaren.

Peter Sauber, founder of the Sauber team, said the two drivers had impressed him differently when he first tested them. Massa had ferocious, innate, natural speed. Raikkonen had unparalleled mental strength.

When asked whether he had to work at that quality, Raikkonen laughed.

"No, I don't do anything," he said. "In my previous teams sometimes people wanted you to do something, to learn or practice it. I always said, 'No thanks.' I know what I need and what to do in my own way, and I know that it works."

"I don't see anything that I really want to change," he added, "because I think that it's just going to mess you up more when somebody starts to tell you what to do."

Raikkonen said he had never been happier in Formula One than he is at Ferrari, primarily because the team lets him do as he pleases, as long as he gets the job done. Doing what he wants and being himself is another key to his strength.

More in line with the drivers of old, Raikkonen keeps in shape playing sports, rather than spending hours in the gym like many of his contemporaries. Principal among the sports he enjoys is ice hockey. He might have become a professional, he said, if it had not been for one inconvenient fact.