"I was having a sh#t": Kimi Raikkonen's hilarious excuse for missing Pele's presentation

Kimi Raikkonen might not be the most vocal racing driver in F1 history, but he is certainly one of the funniest. Millions of fans love him for his cold personality and his occasional bizarre comments.

One of these comments came during the Finn's early days as an F1 driver, when F1 legend Michael Schumacher was about to retire.

At the 2006 Brazilian GP, football legend Pele was invited to honor Schumacher with a lifetime trophy before his last race. This was a monumental moment in F1 history since Schumacher was the most successful driver, having won seven world titles.

Almost all drivers and team members were present for the trophy presentation, except a few, including Raikkonen.

During the grid walk, Martin Brundle stated that the young Finn was not too interested in Pele's presentation. He went up to Raikkonen and spoke about missing the event. To that, the youngster replied with a smile:

"I was having a sh**!"

Brundle could not hold a chuckle either, and went on with the usual talk about his grid position and whether he could win the race from second place. Raikkonen replied:

"We will try definitely, but it's not going to be easy against the Ferraris, but you never know. We will give the best."

Raikkonen's reply became quite famous in and around F1. It was also one of the many incidents that molded the perception of the Finn's personality of not caring much about the fluff and entertainment that comes with the sport and solely focusing on racing. Although Schumacher's retirement was not unimportant in any way, Raikkonen's response left many fans in splits.

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Kimi Raikkonen on returning to NASCAR Cup Series in 2023

Kimi Raikkonen recently spoke about how he enjoyed racing in NASCAR in 2022 and was happy to step back in for the Trackhouse Racing Team for a race at the Circuit of the Americas which took place on Sunday, March 26, 2023.

He mentioned how he learned quite a lot in a short amount of time last year and will continue to have fun and improve with the team this season. He said:

“I had a fantastic time in NASCAR. There was a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, but everyone was very helpful. The competition was a big challenge. This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with, so there won’t be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun but also do as well as we can.”

Raikkonen finished 29th in the race after qualifying at 22nd. Though he was in fourth with just nine laps remaining, several chaotic crashes and restarts caused him to drop to 29th.