Lewis Hamilton burned by rival's 'savage' post-race dig
Kimi Raikkonen appeared to take a cheeky dig at Lewis Hamilton after delaying his coronation as F1 world champion.
The Finnish driver earned his first win in five years on Monday morning, while a good enough day from Ferrari and a late block from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen denied Hamilton a fifth career championship.
Hamilton’s rare defeat in Austin – where he had won the past four races -means his fight with Sebastian Vettel for the title continues to next weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix.
And whether he meant to or not, Raikkonen poured the pain on Hamilton in an awkward post-race encounter.
As you can see in the video above, Raikkonen (dead-pan as usual) asked Hamilton if he’d done enough to clinch the championship, which was met with a terse “no”.
“I didn’t know,” Raikkonen claimed as others in the vicinity, including Verstappen, laughed.
While it’s not clear whether or not Raikkonen was having a go at Hamilton, many fans saw it that way.
Kimi went savage on @LewisHamilton …
"Did you win ??"https://t.co/zEX6moh6Jk— Ntembeko Sosibo (@ntembekoS) October 22, 2018
That look from Lewis 😂
— Gareth Mckeown (@sgazm81) October 21, 2018
Kimi Raikkonen Hilarious Roast on Hamilton After His Win in Austin 2018!: https://t.co/CYPcUdCV5R via @YouTube
— KimiRäikkönenVids (@KimiVids) October 21, 2018
Absolute legend!! 😂😂
— Najmah B. (@NajmahWrites) October 21, 2018
I must Say…. What a Guy Kimi Is 😂
— Hursh.Sujeewon (@hurshs2004) October 21, 2018
Heard it. Amazing. 😂
— Anthony Belcher (@MrAnthonyTweets) October 21, 2018
Almost died 🤣🤣🤣🔥
— suzan (@msuzanat) October 21, 2018
Raikkonen ends historic winless streak
Prior to Sunday, Raikkonen’s most previous win had been with Lotus at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in 2013.
The streak of 113 races in between wins is an all-time F1 record.
Raikkonen seldom cracks a smile or shows much emotion but he shouted an expletive on the team radio after the final lap.
He was then his typical stoic self after a brief victory celebration at the podium.
“It’s nice to win. It doesn’t change my life,” Raikkonen said. “The biggest difference is how people look (at) you.”
Raikkonen will be leaving Ferrari to join Sauber after this season, moving from car capable of winning to a team that is rarely competitive.
“I’m very happy where I’m going. I won the championship with (Ferrari),” Raikkonen said. “As a driver I want different challenges.”
Meanwhile, Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Haas driver Kevin Magnussen were disqualified after stewards found they had broken fuel regulations.
That meant Sergio Perez moved up to eighth, Brendon Hartley to ninth and Marcus Ericsson taking the final point in 10th.
with AAP