Ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen has announced that he will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of this season, marking the end of an era.
The oldest and most experienced driver on the grid, at 41 years of age Räikkönen has lived through three of the major engine eras (V10, V8, V6 hybrid), and has been racing in F1 for 20 years, which is nearly as long as the youngest driver on the grid, 21-year-old Yuki Tsunoda, has been alive. He’s had quite the career over those 20 years, too, racing for Sauber, McLaren, Lotus, and Ferrari in addition to his current Alfa Romeo employment, and even trying his hand in other motorsports like rally and NASCAR.
See Also: Fernando Alonso To Stay With Alpine F1 Through 2022
Related: Sergio Perez Stays With Red Bull Racing For 2022
That being said, while the Finn did win the Driver’s Championship in 2007 and came close in other seasons, he hasn’t seen the same success as of late, which seems to be part of the reason for his retirement. The most recent of his 21 race wins was all the way back in 2018 at the United States Grand Prix, and the last of his 103 podiums and 18 pole positions came that same year.
“This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.” Räikkönen wrote in a bittersweet message on his Instagram, “Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time. Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this! Sincerely Kimi”
Read More: Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive To Survive Will Return In 2022 With Season 4
The announcement is a sad one, but it now opens up a much larger discussion about who will be driving for which teams in 2022. As it currently stands, the leading theory is that Räikkönen’s place at Alfa Romeo will be filled by Valtteri Bottas, who will be replaced at Mercedes with George Russell. Antonio Giovinazzi, Räikkönen’s teammate, is theorized to be replaced by Mercedes Formula E driver Nyck De Vries, while rumored to be taking Russell’s spot at Williams is none other than former Red Bull driver Alex Albon. Assuming all that actually ends up happening, it would certainly be quite the shake-up, and it’ll go hand-in-hand with the challenges drivers and teams face next year adapting to the new car.