Raikkonen’s son eyeing F1 academy programs

Kimi Raikkonen’s 11-year-old son Robin could take a significant step towards Formula 1 before the end of this year.

Speaking to Ilta-Sanomat at Zandvoort, Gino Rosato - Robin’s godfather, a close family friend and now a Red Bull consultant - confirmed that driver academy options are already being explored.

"Of course," he said. "Those are things we are working on."

"We are evaluating options at the moment."

When asked whether Ferrari could be one of them, Rosato refused to say.

"It’s a surprise," he smiled, hinting that an announcement could come soon.

"Hopefully we will announce big news about this this year."

Rosato, who spent almost three decades at Ferrari and has long been close to the Raikkonen family, says the priority is finding the right environment rather than simply trading on the famous surname.

"We need to do what is best for the child, not what is best for the name," he said.

"The name opens doors. We need to make sure those doors stay open by getting them into the right program and around the right people."

Robin has already shown promise in karting, but Rosato stressed that Kimi and Minttu Raikkonen are taking a measured approach.

"Kimi is very realistic," he explained. "He won’t be the crazy parent who says my son is the next Senna."

"If at some point Kimi sees that Robin is losing interest or not doing well, I don’t think he will continue this."

Rosato nevertheless sees striking similarities between father and son.

"He is quiet, really quiet. And fast," he said of Robin.

"From morning to night, that’s all he has on his mind. Kimi hasn’t put it in his head."

If Robin continues progressing, Rosato says the pathway would be conventional.

"First to the academy and then little by little up. F4, F3, F2 and Formula 1, like everyone else."