You have said last year to F1Racing that winning your first title was your big aim and everything after this gonna be a bonus. Do you still think so?
Yes. I achieved what I certainly wanted to achieve and I'm happy because of it. But when I can get more titles, I'll be happy beacuse of that.

When you say something like that, it sounds like a bit you have no real desire to a next title.
(Laughs) I don't care what people think about me. Honestly, I don't give a s.hit to that.

You don't give a s.hit to that?
People may think what they want. If I win more championships, that'll make me happy and that's my aim. But this is not so easy: sometimes everything goes right, sometimes not. I try to win. But when you didn't succeed, you shouldn't give up. If I win and I'll prove to some people that they weren't right and that will make me happy. But basically I'm not thinking on what are others saying. Everybody has their own opinion. I don't read all the stories about me. I try to give my best when I'm on the track. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.

You´re known as a freethinker. Is there a person out there to whom you listen, when he/she says "Don´t do that!" ?
Anyone can say that, but that´s not making really any difference. I decide by myself what to do. There are always plenty of people who can say some things, but in the end It´s my decision if I listen to them or not. I do what I think is right. What other drivers do, is not my buisness. I have my own life. Each person is different - that also applies to the guys in the paddock.


Are you the fastest man on earth?
I don´t know. If you ask some guys, they say, you´re the fastest. But propably you´re sometimes the fastest and sometimes not. That depends on various factors. When you´re always getting everything right, you can be the fastest, yes. But that´s not that easy. We never will know who is the fastest man. I mean, it´s a bit stupid to say "This man is the fastet!..." No matter who wins the WDC has been the best this year. That´s the easiest way to look at it.


You said sometime ago, you would like to go to the wild western or be a Formula One Driver in the 70s ...

In Formula One I would have had definetly more fun! In the old days the hole thing was really dangerous, always some risk, nowadays there aren´t really overtaking manoeuvre. The sport doesn´t go the right way. We should have close fights and overtaking manoeuvres, but that´s not the case. In former times the atmosphere was also more relaxed: There was less money in play, therefore there was less pression, you understand? The people had more fun of F1 than we have nowadays. But in the end that are two different animals. I love nonetheless to drive races - that applies also to the other drivers. When you ask a testdriver what´s more exciting, tests ore a race, they will defintly say race. And that´s the essential/main point.


So, do you think Formula One isn´t dangerous enough? Is this your reason for having hobbies like rallye and therefore not collecting stamps e.g.?
I don´t think that my hobbies are dangerous at all. They are just things which I like to do. At an early age, we played ice-hockey or football or different motorsports. For me icehockey and racing have been ordinary things. In the end, I´ve made out of my hobby my job. I love simply everything which has a motor, e.g. motorcross. These sports are so pretty "different".


One of your idols is James Hunt. He liked to have a party from time to time, and also to be alone, on his own, at school he liked to run marathons...
Have you similar tendencies?
I think there are two kind of possible answers - It depends on which person do you ask. But let´s say: I`ll enjoy to make sometimes things on my own.

What would buddys of you say...what´s like to spend time with you?
I don´t know. You have to ask them.

But I don´t know them...
(laughs) then everythings fine.
Why? What stories would they tell?
(Suddenly very serious again) Pretty sure that nothing. I like to spend my time with friends, but sometimes I like to be alone. It depends how I feel like. Sometimes you want to have some rest so you'd rather be alone in your free time. Other times you want to go out with your mates. As long as you're in good circles that'll make a lot of fun.

Just additionally: what are those tattoos on you actually mean?
(Giggles) Tattoos for sure.


Ingenious

"I simply try to drive fast."

Many people says you're a genius in a racing car. Do you agree?
Ah, no. I just simply try to drive fast, that's all.

What would your former teacher say about that you're called genius?
(Laughs) Aahh. I think she knows that I'm not a genius. Also she doesn't need to say too much about this.

When did somebody come to you for the first time saying "Guy, you're da.mn good"?
(Smiling) Well, I have no idea. There are always so many people who say nice things and less nice things. So...

But there should have been a time, when you were just 5 years old and sitting in a cart...
Sometimes you hear such things when you're in carting but I can't remember such a thing.

Have you been born with talent or have you worked for it hard?
If you have talent, you have talent, and that's all. You can still increase it but you have it or not. It's something different than you learn something and practice it a lot. I mean, I don't know if I'm talented. People might say something, but...

Come on - you're one of the best drivers in the world...
Maybe. If so, that's normal for me. I'm not thinking on things like that. When I'm driving, I drive as fast as I can that's why I'm not thinking on this - everything is done automatically. It's not normal, at least for me, when you're thinking on every single movement. You're acting instinctively. But you can always get better, nobody will ever reach perfection. When you later watch your lap, you'll realize you can always do it a bit faster - even if the difference is only some thousandths. But as long as you're winning races, that's enough. You always try to be perfect, but I don't think I have ever achieved that. It's always better if you're honest.

When you're "in a tunnel", everything goes automatically, is it easy to be fast?
If you're doing everything right, your car is good and everything is the way you like it, you'll get good results. Unfortunately it's not always so easy to get your car match your liking. If you have a bad car your work is gonna be so much harder. Sometimes you have a car wherewith you can do fast laps easy, because everything works optimally. It can even happen that you were wrong about a gear and after that you're amazed staring the times monitor.

So do you feel a bit unbeatable?
(Laughs) No, it"s not like a movie. It's real life. Sometimes you're doing everything right, sometimes not. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's a normal thing...


SUPEEEEER THX to the guys in Kimi's forum, especially to Finnair and Eleariel,