Vettel will miss 'the silence' of 'incredibly talented' Raikkonen

Sebastian Vettel paid tribute to his former Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen who will retire from F1 at the end of the year, joking that he'll miss the incredibly talented Finn's "silence".

Raikkonen's tenure in Formula 1 extended over twenty years and yielded 21 Grand Prix wins and a world title achieved with Ferrari in 2007.

A massively popular figure with the sport's fans, the quiet 41-year-old is also greatly appreciated by his peers, including Vettel with whom the Finn was paired at the Scuderia during his second spell with the Italian outfit.

Asked on Thursday in Zandvoort what he would miss most about Raikkonen, Vettel said: "The silence!"

"He’s an incredible talent and seeing that first-hand as a teammate for some years was impressive, just the amount of speed he has right from the get-go and the ability he has to get used to different cars, different conditions," added the German on a serious note.

"He definitely earned his place and had a long, great career."

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton also praised the Iceman, revealing that Raikkonen was his go-to driver in computer games.

"I remember before I got to Formula 1, in computer games I’d always be in Kimi’s car," said the Briton

"So I had this crazy experience of racing against him, losing a championship to him and then [having] lots of great battles [with him]. He will be missed."

Fernando Alonso, who also raced alongside Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2014, described the Finn as an "always fair, always respectful, always tough competitor", but also one that was also cool, with "no tricks".

"In that aspect I will miss him because you knew you could trust Kimi when you were side by side,” added Alonso. "He will never do any crazy thing or anything that would put you in danger."

• Read also: Raikkonen 'not interested' in planning life after F1

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly is among those young F1 drivers who were barely karting when Raikkonen burst on to the scene.

"There is only one Kimi and he is very unique, so clearly he is going to be missed by everybody in the paddock," said the Frenchman.

"I remember my first memories of watching F1 are from the 2002-2003, so Kimi was already there... and then I ended up in Formula 1 racing against him.

"So very privileged and for sure we’ll miss such an iconic driver in the paddock."

As for young gun Georeg Russell, the Williams driver recalled a slightly painful first encounter with the Iceman.

"The first time I ever spoke to Kimi, the conversation ended with him twisting my nipples!" said Russell. "At the FIA Gala in 2018.

"He’s one of a kind, and respect for everything he’s achieved on-track and off… as well. He’s a bit of a legend and for sure he’ll be missed – there’s no one like him."

And no tribute would be complete without a word from Raikkonen's countryman, Valtteri Bottas.

"As a youngster I was following him closely when he started in F1," the Mercedes driver told the media at Zandvoort.

"At that time, I was doing my first season in single seaters in Formula Renault when he won his title with Ferrari.

"He’s obviously a big star in Finland, a bit of a legend and it was always good fun to watch him and nice to race with him because he’s one of the drivers that when you race with them, you’re quite comfortable going wheel to wheel.

"He’s always had good respect to his competition – and that’s the way I like racing as well."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter