Kimi Raikkonen returns to the Formula 1 fold for a charity football match

Kimi Raikkonen will join his former F1 colleagues in Monaco – not for the grand prix, rather a charity football match.

The Finn, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of last season, will join Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and a host of other F1 stars past and present at the annual ‘World Stars Football Match’ event.

The F1 team, ‘All Stars Formula 1 Drivers’, will take on the ‘Star Team For The Children’ that will include Prince Albert II of Monaco, former MotoGP champ Max Biaggi and Formula E’s Jerome D’Ambrosio.

That team will be coached by Claudio Ranieri, with former Juventus midfielder Oscar Damiani in charge of the F1 team.

Varios pilotos de F1 (24 entre actuales y ex) jugarán un partido de fútbol amistoso a beneficio de "Star team for the children" en Mónaco.#F1 #Monaco pic.twitter.com/sA0CkeqFgi

— El Mejor del Resto ? (@elmejordelresto) May 16, 2022

The match will be held at Monaco’s Stade Louis II on Tuesday May 24 as part of the build-up to the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and will be televised live on Sky Sports F1 HD.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Star Team For The Children, which supports over 100 sporting and charitable events.

It remains to be seen whether Raikkonen will also be present at the Monaco Grand Prix a few days after the charity match.

A month after contesting his final grand prix, the 2007 World Champion told Bild: “I may never set foot in the paddock again. Formula 1 was never my life. There were always things that were more important to me. Nothing will change about that.

“I didn’t stop because I didn’t have the strength but because I have better things to do than sit on planes and stay in hotels.

“I’m just glad it’s over. Even the fact I couldn’t finish the last race [in Abu Dhabi] doesn’t matter.”

 

Raikkonen has been enjoying family life since his F1 exit, the 42-year-old often posting snippets of his life and especially his children’s antics in karting on social media.

He has also remained in motor racing, taking on the role of team principal of the Kawasaki Racing Team for the 2022 season of the Motocross World Championship.

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