Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that Force India was close to a sensational deal with Kimi Räikkönen in 2011. The former team principal said he personally spoke with the Finn as he was working on his F1 comeback, after leaving the sport at the end of 2009 for a rally adventure. At the time, Force India was coming off one of its best seasons to date and saw Räikkönen as the ideal leader for the future.
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Szafnauer recalled memories of a special meeting during the race weekend in Brazil. “I almost signed Kimi Räikkönen for Force India before he went to Lotus,” he revealed to High Performance Racing. “It was in Brazil, during the last race of the season. I met him along with two of his friends, trying to persuade him to come to Force India.” The story becomes even more remarkable: according to Szafnauer, those friends were the founders of the popular mobile game Angry Birds.
Negotiations
The talks continued later during the traditional Red Bull party after the F1 season ended. “Räikkönen said: ‘Let’s talk at the Red Bull party.’ We arrived there and I thought: ‘We won’t get in, it’s way too crowded.’ But then Kimi was suddenly recognized. People immediately shouted: ‘Kimi, this way.’ All doors opened for him,” Szafnauer grinned. In the end, he failed to secure the Finn; the former champion chose Lotus, where he won two races in 2012 and 2013 before returning to Ferrari.
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Szafnauer understands that choice in hindsight. “In the end, I couldn’t convince him to come to Force India. There were several reasons for that. You also have to convince drivers that the future looks brighter than with other offers. And to be honest: he went to Lotus at a time when they were winning more races than we were. They were simply better then.” After his second stint at Ferrari, Räikkönen moved to Alfa Romeo in 2019. He raced there for three more seasons before finally retiring from Formula 1 at the end of 2021.
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