F1 World Celebrates as Champion Kimi Raikkonen Converts Retirement to ‘Racing Again’

Formula 1 legend Kimi Raikkonen may be done with F1, but he is definitely not done with racing. In 2021, he stepped down after an illustrious career 20-year run that saw him bag poles, podiums, and wins. But he is back into racing and in a series, he has raced before, NASCAR. 

Changing his Instagram from “Retired” to “Racing again”, Kimi sent the entire F1 Twitter community into a frenzy.

Other comments noted that Kimi Raikkonen is a legend for racing again. All the tweets clearly show how loved the Iceman is in the racing world; people can’t wait to see what NASCAR has in store for him. The former Ferrari driver will be making his debut at Watkins Glen with Trackhouse Racing. 

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How did Kimi Raikkonen agree to race in NASCAR?

Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, apparently “sold the whole thing well,” the Finn recalls. “I’ve been a big fan of Kimi’s for a long time, I’ve followed his career since he started in Formula 1 with Sauber,” said Justin. 

“One of the cool moments of my career being a Formula 1 fan was being able to race against Kimi in Charlotte in 2011.”

“I knew he had an interest in NASCAR, and that he’d done it before, and thought that if I explained to him what this project was all about, he’d be interested in being a part of it.”

This isn’t the first time the 2007 World Champion is going to race in NASCAR. During his time off from Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen raced in one Nationwide Series event- now known as Xfinity Series; and one Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2011. 

“There were obviously options to do more this year, but I think it all came a bit too quickly, to try to do it as well as we can on all the sides,” Kimi said. “I think it was better to wait until this race, so we can prepare for everything and at least have done the work 100% right, and what the outcome is, nobody knows. We’ll at least give ourselves the best chance that we can.”

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It will be exciting to see what NASCAR has in store for the Iceman; and what more races he can do? What was your reaction upon hearing about his return? Let us know in the comments!