Abu Dhabi GP 2012: The origin of Kimi Raikkonen’s famous “I know what to do” quote


Abu Dhabi GP 2012: The origin of Kimi Raikkonen’s famous “I know what to do” quote

Kimi Raikkonen won the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP after his iconic "Leave me alone" team radio

Kimi Raikkonen is one of the most loved drivers ever seen in Formula 1. He is not only the most successful Finn in the sport but his personality made him a fan favorite, and praised by everyone in the paddock. Over the years, the 43-year-old has provided us with many hilarious moments in his career, but the most iconic Iceman phrase is the “Leave me alone, I know what to do” team radio at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen has never been fond of the Yas Marina circuit which hosts the season finale of the F1 championship in Abu Dhabi. Once on Top Gear when asked about his views on the track, Kimi said, “First few turns are good but the rest of it is shit,“ he then further elaborated, “The last part of the circuit is not very good. It’s very twisty there. It was better than I expected so it wasn’t too bad, it was quite wet so I slipped around and got a bit sideways a few times but it was good fun.”

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Kimi Raikkonen’s famous “Leave me alone, I know what to do” team radio

Heading into the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP, Kimi looked to have a decent result with the Lotus RenaultF1 team. The season was extremely competitive with 7 different drivers winning the first 7 rounds. Raikkonen and Lotus had been winless year round yet with the Finn’s consistency, he was P3 in the championship with 173 points, long out of the championship race that year with Sebastian Vettel leading before the final race.

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Kimi Raikkonen orders the team “Leave me alone, I know what to do” before winning his first F1 race since 2009

Raikkonen maintained his lead and brought home his Lotus 1.9 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso

Raikkonen qualified P4 for the race with the Iceman referring to the session as “good.” In the race, the Finn got a good start and was able to jump to P2, only behind the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. During the early part of the race, Lewis struggled to warm up the tires, allowing Kimi to put pressure on the Brit for the lead. However soon, the British driver pulled away, while setting in the fastest lap of the race. After the safety car restart on Lap 14, The Finn extended his lead to Pastor Maldonado in P3.

On Lap 20, disaster struck Lewis Hamilton who was forced to stop after a fuel pressure issue, this enabled Raikkonen to inherit the lead. As the Finn drove up in front, Fernando Alonso started his chase for the winner who was running at P2 after overtaking Maldonado. Kimi’s race engineer tried to inform him about the 5-second gap to the Ferrari, which made Kimi utter the now-famous words, Kimi demanded, “Leave me alone, I know what to do,” as he kept his head down and focused on racing.

Kimi’s words stood true as he stayed in the lead throughout the race and came home in P1 with a gap of 1.9 seconds to Alonso’s Ferrari. This gave Kimi his and the team’s first and only win of the year while solidifying his third place in the drivers’ standings. It was also his first Grand Prix win since 2009. Raikkonen’s team radio went down as one of the funniest in history and even today we see people wearing T-shirts printed with the phrase. This was the Iceman’s last race with the Enstone Team and it gave Lotus its first victory since Ayrton Senna in 1987 at Detroit.

Kimi Raikkonen would go on to win two more races in his F1 career, both with Scuderia Ferrari. Yet when we look back in time, it’s the Abu Dhabi season finale that is cherished by fans as it indeed presented Kimi in his real form, a man who likes to do his thing without being told unnecessary information. The Iceman retired at the end of 2021, and his absence in the F1 paddock is still felt by fans and drivers alike. Maybe one day we’ll see the Finn return on a managerial level but that’s a long shot.

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