Robin, who is already making a name for himself in karting, will join the Red Bull Junior Team from 2027. The youngster has reportedly impressed with his speed, racecraft and maturity, despite being at an age when most children are still being reminded to put their shoes on before leaving the house.
Red Bull described Robin as one of the most promising young drivers of his generation.
The team also confirmed that his father is Kimi Räikkönen, although this information was considered unnecessary after Robin had already introduced himself as "the other Räikkönen".
Kimi, meanwhile, has welcomed his son's move with what sources describe as an unusually lengthy public statement.
The former Ferrari champion, famously nicknamed "The Iceman" for his famously limited enthusiasm for unnecessary conversation, reportedly produced several paragraphs about how pleased he was with Robin's opportunity.
Advertisement
This has caused considerable confusion within the Formula 1 paddock.
"Are you sure that was Kimi?" asked one Red Bull employee. "There were words. Quite a lot of them. We thought someone had hacked his account."
Räikkönen's legendary relationship with the spoken word became particularly famous during his F1 career, when radio messages such as "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" became considerably more famous than most people's entire careers.
Red Bull is therefore reportedly taking no chances with its new recruit.
"We're teaching Robin everything," said one academy insider. "Racecraft, fitness, media training, engineering and, most importantly, how to answer a journalist's question in more than one word."
Robin is expected to spend the next few years developing his career through karting and junior categories before potentially progressing towards Formula 1.
At just 11, however, he already has one considerable advantage over most aspiring F1 drivers.
He has a world champion for a father.
And, should the pressure become too much, he can simply ask Kimi what he thinks.
Assuming Kimi answers before 2029.