Robin Raikkonen, 11, joins Red Bull junior programme — SkimNews
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- Robin Raikkonen, nicknamed 'Ace', signed with Red Bull's driver development programme and will officially join in 2027 at age 11
- Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies praised Robin's "exceptional ability in karting," highlighting his speed, racecraft, maturity, and "calm approach," pledging to develop him "step by step, without placing any unnecessary pressure"
- Red Bull's junior programme has previously produced four-time F1 world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen
- Robin's father Kimi Raikkonen — nicknamed 'Iceman' and the most recent Ferrari driver to claim a world title (2007) — retired in 2021 with 21 wins and 103 podiums from 349 F1 starts, and also competed in the World Rally Championship and Nascar
- Kimi Raikkonen, 46, said the family is "thrilled and excited" that Robin was chosen, calling Red Bull's programme "compelling and comprehensive"
- Robin follows Ella Hakkinen, daughter of Finland's double world champion Mika Hakkinen, who joined McLaren's driver development programme last year — marking a wave of second-generation Finnish drivers entering F1 pipelines
Why it matters: The Raikkonen name re-enters the F1 pipeline through the same Red Bull programme that produced Verstappen and Vettel, with a 2027 start giving the team years to evaluate the second-generation Finn before any potential F1 seat — and confirming that Red Bull and rival McLaren are now both nurturing Finnish legacy drivers in parallel.
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