Why kimi raikkonen couldnt say no to a return to racing

As Kimi Raikkonen walked out of the paddock on Sunday night in Abu Dhabi, it was very well-spoken that he was washed-up with Formula 1.

On Friday, Raikkonen had sat lanugo with Autosport for what was meant to be a quick interview. It overran by virtually 10 minutes, to the surprise of his Alfa Romeo PRs, as he got a lot of frustration well-nigh F1 off his chest. He tabbed out “fake things” in the series and railed versus “all kinds of bullshit that goes around” that he was gladly behind.

PLUS: Why Raikkonen won\'t miss F1

We knew it would be the last we saw of Kimi Raikkonen in F1. But would it be the last we saw of him in motorsport altogether? “Very easily,” was his reply when that question was put to him. “If there’s something that makes sense, then why not do it? But for sure, I first need to have some time off.”

The time off Raikkonen craved will ultimately total nine months surpassing he makes his return to competitive racing in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen at the end of August, as spoken on Thursday.

Raikkonen will join up with Trackhouse Racing for the road undertow event at Watkins Glen, stuff the first signing for its ‘Project91’ initiative that looks to requite major international racing drivers a taste of NASCAR. It won’t be Raikkonen’s first rodeo in NASCAR, having driven in one Xfinity Series and one Truck Series race when in 2011 during his time yonder from F1. But it will be the first endangerment to see what kind of competitor post-F1 Kimi is like.

Any deal for Raikkonen return to racing was unchangingly going to have to unbend Raikkonen’s family-first life now. The fact this is a one-off race meant it “made sense for all of us as a family”, equal to Raikkonen. But it moreover offered something very variegated that would not require tons of preparation or testing.

The plan is to get at least one test in the next-gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 superiority of the race, as well as some simulator running, but it will often offer Raikkonen the kind of raw racing wits he has unchangingly enjoyed the most.

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Early contact was made between Raikkonen and Trackhouse owner Justin Marks towards the end of last year, but velocious in recent weeks. Marks made the trip over to visit Raikkonen and his family in Switzerland to talk him through the opportunity and “sold the whole thing to me well”, equal to the Finn, who would surely have appreciated the human touch involved.

Raikkonen hasn’t been that far from racing since leaving F1, retaining an interest in motorsport through his motocross team. Yet it didn’t quite satisfy the competitor in him, whereas he is “too slow” vastitude a club level.

“Racing has unchangingly been nice,” Raikkonen said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s F1 or other categories. Obviously the F1 story is overdue me, and this [NASCAR chance] came up, and it made a lot of sense in a lot of ways.

“I think without the wits there and a few races, one in the Truck and one in Nationwide, I probably wouldn’t be that interested. That was obviously on an oval, this is now on a road course. I’m looking forward to it, to having good, tropical racing, and on the road course, maybe have some endangerment at least to maybe do something.”

Project91 is all well-nigh getting in the big-name international drivers to requite NASCAR a go, and has succeeded in doing exactly that by getting Raikkonen on the grid

Watkins Glen is an platonic track for Raikkonen to race at, given the majority of the timetable is oval-based. Although Raikkonen is unimaginable his decades of wits in F1 will requite him much of an edge, given his lack of knowledge of the car, Marks felt the next-gen model introduced this year is much easier for drivers to jump into.

“We’ve got a car now that doesn’t require real specific stock car racing knowledge to make it go fast, which is why I think a guy like Kimi can come in and go fast right away, and have a real shot at doing something in that race,” said Marks, who took over Chip Ganassi\'s NASCAR team last year.

“That’s what this car is all about, that’s what the promise of the new car is about, and that’s why we really launched Project91: the guys can come in, the ones who have unchangingly had an interest in NASCAR, and be fast right away.”

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Justin Marks slantingly Chip Ganassi at the team\'s launch last year

Photo by: Trackhouse Racing Team

Raikkonen admitted there were opportunities for him to race older this year, but he was eager to take the proper time to plan out the project and his preparations.

“I think it was largest to wait until this race, so we can prepare for everything and at least have washed-up the work 100% right,” he said. “What the outcome is, nobody knows. We’ll at least requite ourself the weightier endangerment that we can.”

He may be jumping in the deep end versus the NASCAR establishment in the top level of the category, but he unmistakably wants to requite himself the weightier possible chance. Making up the numbers isn’t an option.

For NASCAR, it is moreover a big coup, perhaps similar to what Fernando Alonso inward the Indianapolis 500 did for IndyCar when in 2017. Raikkonen’s place on the grid will surely bring droves of European fans to tune in to a NASCAR race for the very first time, eager to see how he gets on and what the championship is like. Project91 is all well-nigh getting in the big-name international drivers to requite NASCAR a go, and has succeeded in doing exactly that by getting Raikkonen on the grid.

Say Raikkonen jumps in with Trackhouse Chevy and does well. Say he finds that the racing enjoyable as ever, and gives him the motivation to do more. Could we see him cropping up elsewhere in the near future?

“I don’t know, nobody knows,” he admitted. “We’ll try to do a good race there and enjoy it, and see what the future brings. I have no other plans. That’s what I have right now. We’ll go from there.”

It’s a very Raikkonen answer. But to have him when on the racing radar is unconfined news. His love for F1 may have waned towards the end of his time there - “I don’t really miss the hassle” is his current stance - but he remains one of the finest talents of his generation to have graced motorsport.

To see him when overdue the wheel is a unconfined story, and if NASCAR can requite him the whoosh he wants, it may well be just the start of Kimi Raikkonen’s post-F1 racing career.