Kimi Raikonnen, Tag Heuer Ambassador, meets his fans
Sepang, 18 March 2005 – Kimi Raikkonen, as Tag Heuer Ambassador, met his fans at a small gathering at the Pan Pacific Hotel, KLIA, Sepang together with the hosts of the evening, Tag Heuer Regional Managing Director, Mr. Ravi Thakram, and Mr. Jean-Christophe Babin, Tag Heuer president and Chief Executive officer.
Kimi Raikkonen is one of five personalities appointed as Tag Heuer’s 2005 global ambassadors. The others are fellow F1 competitor Juan Pablo Montoya, movie stars Uma Thurman and Brad Pitt, Sports personalities Maria Sharapova and Tiger Woods.
Members of the press and a few lucky members of the public got the rare opportunity to hear what the 25 year old Finnish driver, popularly known as the “Iceman”, had to say about his chances of a win in this Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Speaking in his familiar unemotional monotone voice, Kimi put it all down to having a reliable and fast car, with tyre choice being critical to his performance. When asked about the unpredictable Malaysian weather and how it may affect his performance, Kimi remarked that he would prefer a dry race, as it would allow him and the others to enjoy the race. He also hoped that he would not be caught out by rain in the qualifying session, as this may mean him starting out behind slower drivers. “It would be difficult for me then, as the slower drivers would slow down my lap times…it will then be difficult for me to get a high placing,” he said.
It was a short meeting, and after twenty minutes or so, he left for his hotel to rest for the next day’s qualifying session. His poor fans who were hoping for a photograph with him, or an autograph went home disappointed. How sad!
