Top Gear producer lost his cool and told off Kimi Räikkönen when he appeared on the show

It was never the expectation for actual racers to feature in the ‘Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car’, but on the dawn of his major F1 comeback, Kimi Räikkönen was given a rollocking by a Top Gear producer.

Kimi Räikkönen is known for his no-nonsense attitude, earning the Finnish racer the ‘Iceman’ title.

Having won the F1 World Championship for Ferrari in 2007, he soon departed the sport two years later, and stunned the paddock by switching to Rallying.

But with a return on the cards in 2012 with Lotus, Kimi Räikkönen appeared on Top Gear. Only, he wasn’t in the mood for much driving.

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Top Gear producer recalls the moment he exploded with Kimi Räikkönen over the ‘Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car’

Back in its prime ages with James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond, Top Gear threw up some seriously hilarious moments.

But some of the best content was watching multi-millionaires throw a $1,000 car around the track like their lives were worth nothing.

In a separate leaderboard for racers, Kimi Räikkönen appeared behind the wheel of the Suzuki Liana in 2012, just as he was returning to Lotus for a gargantuan F1 comeback.

However, former Executive Producer of Top Gear Andy Wilman needed to give the F1 icon a rocket up the backside to be able to record a time worthy of a place on the leaderboard.

Speaking on the Midweek F1 podcast, Wilman revealed that he had to enter Räikkönen’s motorhome to tell him to drive faster.

Detailing how the wet conditions were clearly putting off the F1 racer from trying hard, Räikkönen was putting in sub-par times that would have left him at the bottom of the leaderboard.

“I go into the motorhome after him,” the Top Gear producer said. “He’s in the like, La-Z-Boy chair, and it’s warm, and he’s fully sort of stretched out, like Joey from Friends.

“I went, ‘Kimi, you know, it’s drying out now. I can’t tell you your time, but it wasn’t brilliant. We know you could go faster’. And he went, ‘No, I can’t’.

“I lost it with him a bit, and b****cked him, like, ‘There are so many people here waiting to see you make a comeback, and that’ll be on you if you don’t do something!’”

Formula 1 racer’s fastest times on the famous Top Gear lap

Kimi did get back on the circuit, but the Iceman didn’t do much skating, as his time only improved to be second-worst in the segment.

Nine drivers took to the track in the drab Suzuki car, and Räikkönen’s 1:46:1 was only better than Damon Hill (1:46:3), the first ever racer to try it.

Funnily enough, this was less than a second faster than the leading celebrity guests, with Dame Ellen MacArthur, Jimmy Carr, and Simon Cowell holding the Suzuki Liana records.

The leaders of the racing pack posted times four seconds faster, as a prime Daniel Riccardo (1:42.2) beat Lewis Hamilton (1:42.9) to top spot.

Kimi Räikkönen went on to win a number of races on his return to the F1 paddock, including three in his tenure at Lotus.

It seems like he was keeping himself in check for the big return, despite the best efforts from the Top Gear producer.

Nowadays, Top Gear is more of a legacy, and fans hold a dear place in their hearts for some of the finest cars that ever appeared on the show.

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