Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen would probably rather forget his performance in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on 14th May, but for one young fan it was the race of a lifetime. Raikkonen was forced to retire after a crash on the very first turn left his Ferrari’s steering column broken. As the disappointed Finn climbed from his car, TV pictures showed a devastated young boy in tears in the grandstand.

Thomas Danel, a six-year-old Ferrari fan from Amiens in France – he even has a cat called ‘Schumie’ - was gutted that his hero had been forced out. Quickly he and his family were invited down to the formula one paddock, where Thomas’ tears soon turned to smiles when he got to meet Raikkonen — nicknamed “The Ice Man’’ — who gave him his Ferrari cap. “This has been the most fantastic day for us”, Thomas’ mother Coralie said, “we could not believe it when they came to get us and took us to Ferrari. This is great for fans like us, it really makes F1 and all of its people come alive. Brilliant!”