Kimi Raikkonen was forced into an embarrassing but less than fullsome apology after being photographed cavorting with a singer and then collapsed in a heap on top of an inflatable dolphin outside a nightclub in Gran Caneria. "I'm sorry," he said when details of the seven-hour bender hit the headlines. "I had a few drinks and danced, why not?" It was one of several such incidents involving Raikkonen during what has been a colourful career.
1901
More than 25,000 people lined the Ocean Parkway in New York to see Henri Fournier in a Mors win a measured-mile contest at 69.5mph.
1966
Mike Salo, born on this day in Finland, never set the F1 world alight in a 111-race career which yielded only two podium finishes. His career stalled early on when he was convicted of drink-driving but he returned and drove for eight teams between 1994 and 2002. His podiums both came while he was a stand-in for Ferrari in 1999, but high hopes with Toyota failed to materialise and he was bought out of the second year of his contract and headed to sports-car racing.
1911
David Bruce-Brown in a Fiat successfully defended his American Grand Prize title at the 17-mile Savannah (Georgia) road course, winning by more than two minutes from Eddie Hearne. It was the last major race held on the circuit. A year later Bruce-Brown was killed while preparing to again defend his crown.
2006
Former double world champion Mike Hakkinen briefly returned to the cockpit to help McLaren with its winter testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. He was more than three seconds off the pace when completing 77 laps. "It was great fun but I also had to do some serious work for the team," he said.
