Kimi Raikkonen adds another world title to the shelf — this time from the pit wall
Kimi Raikkonen knows what it feels like when the world stops for a championship. He’s lived it in scarlet overalls, and now he’s lived it in team kit, headset on, eyes narrowed, as his Kawasaki Racing Team sealed motocross’s biggest prize.
Romain Febvre clinched the 2025 FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at the season finale in Darwin, Australia, delivering Raikkonen his first title as a team principal. A measured fourth in the opening moto was enough to bank the points; a violent storm then scrubbed race two, locking in the result and confirming Febvre as champion for the second time in his career — and first with KRT.
“Having raced in and won the Formula 1 World Championship, I understand how Romain must feel at this moment,” Raikkonen said after the wrap in Darwin. “I want to add my sincere congratulations to him, the Team, Kawasaki and also all the Kawasaki fans globally. We came into this project seeking to win and, as a team, that is what we have achieved. This has been the goal for me and Antti [Pyrhönen] since the day we started – Mission Accomplished!”
It’s a well-judged phrase for a man who rarely overstates anything. Since stepping away from Formula 1 at the end of 2021, Raikkonen has played this second career with the same economy of fuss that defined his first. He took the reins at KRT soon after and, in that typically Kimi way, went about it with minimal noise and maximum intent.
Febvre’s own arc fits the moment. The 31-year-old Frenchman first stunned MXGP with a breakout title in 2015, a breathless rookie charge with Yamaha that wrapped early. A decade on, he’s climbed back to the summit, now in Kawasaki green, a rider hardened by the years but fast enough to bend a championship to his will. “I really don’t know what to say; this is such an emotional moment,” he admitted. “My ultimate goal for the last ten years has been to be champion again and now I have achieved my goal with Kawasaki. It’s been a tough year but we were prepared and we brought it home.”
The title also bookends a neat F1 crossover. Raikkonen remains Ferrari’s most recent Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion, the 2007 world champion whose name still stands as the Scuderia’s last individual crown heading into the 2025 season. He’s swapped a visor for a pit board, but the output looks familiar: a clinical endgame, pressure absorbed, a trophy delivered.
KRT’s structure deserves credit too. Team manager Antti Pyrhönen has been a constant and, together with Raikkonen, has built a group that looks cohesive and unflappable — on-brand for the boss, frankly. Raikkonen also acknowledged the wider rider roster, tipping his hat to Pauls Jonass and Mathis Valin for their roles in a season-long push. The target now? Do it again — and do more. “After celebrating we will focus on repeating our success in MXGP in 2026 and also capturing the MX2 title as well,” Raikkonen said, already pivoting from champagne to spreadsheets.
For the record, MX2 slipped away this time to Red Bull KTM’s Simon Längenfelder. But Raikkonen’s tone suggests that won’t sit on the “uncontrollables” pile for long.
There’s an easy temptation to say, “Well, motocross isn’t Formula 1.” True, but high-end racing dynamics travel well: leadership, process, timing, zero flinch when the weather turns biblical and the math gets tight. Raikkonen has always been a connoisseur of the calm moment — the lap after the out-lap, the one where you cash the cheque. In Darwin, he got that moment again, this time with mud on the boots instead of marbles on the tires.
So yes, it’s still Kimi. Fewer radios, more roost. Same result.
