“I’m 30 & American” – Kyle Larson Explains Refusal to Do “Fake PR” F1 Test Amid “Impossible” Dream

Formula 1 has been long considered as the uppermost echelon of open wheen racing across the world. However, it is a rare sight to witness a NASCAR Cup Series driver go out there and race. It does not mean that there haven’t been any of them. We had people like Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya. Though in Montoya’s case, it was the other way around. Nonetheless, representation from NASCAR has been scarce in Formula 1.

However, a Hendrick Motorsports star recently expressed his desire to get himself in an F1 car. During the latest episode of Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie podcast, Kyle Larson opened up about his prospects of ever receiving an F1 test. He also spoke about how he wished to race in the sport, even if it was “impossible.”

What did Kyle Larson say about Formula 1?

During the podcast, Larson stated, “No, no, no, no, no, no, never never. I went to Abu Dhabi at the end of 2021 and was just going as a fan but yeah, I mean, I would love to test. But no, I didn’t. I’ve never talked to any team. I’ve never met any teams, nothing like that. I would love to though. It’d be that’d be cool.

I just think, yeah, but like, even with that, though, I don’t want to just do a seat swap. Like I think that’s cool at all, but like I want to actually like, I want to go do a legit test.”

The 2021 Champion also mentioned that he would in fact love to race. However, he was aware that it was “impossible” as he is “30 and American.”

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He added that he wanted to do the test in a “current car.” Furthermore, he mentioned that he wanted to do it real, “not just do fake PR stuff.”

What did Larson mean by the “30 and American” remark?

Most of the drivers in F1 are quite young compared to NASCAR. Drivers usually hit their prime early and tend to retire in their 30s; sometimes even earlier. Only on rare occasions do drivers such as Kimi Räikkönen or Fernando Alonso stick around till their late 30s–early 40s.

Meanwhile, across the pond in NASCAR, we consider drivers to be still young when they are 30. Several drivers have raced on for way longer than F1 drivers on average. One of the main reasons for younger people being in F1 is the amount of G forces that each driver is subjected to through high-speed turns. Overtime, reaction speed and physical strength drop, causing drivers to peak early.

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Larson’s comment about being an American was a nod to the fact that across the entire history of the sport, there have been very few Americans who have gone on to race in F1. As of the current grid for 2023, we do have an American driver driving for Williams—Logan Sargent. However, the last time anyone from the States won a championship in the sport was Mario Andretti. That was in 1978. Given this obvious lack of representation for American drivers in F1, Larson’s phrase makes sense for him to be given race participation at this age.