Think Ill Start Watching Nascar

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Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen is rumored to make the switch to Nascar in 2017 following future uncertainty for the championship winning Finn Formula 1 driver.

The Finn’s return to Maranello didn’t go as well as it did when he first drove for Ferrari, Raikkonen has only managed a few podiums, no race victories and has been consistently out-scored by his two competitive team-mates; Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Sky Sports News report that Kimi Raikkonen is now eyeing a Nascar seat with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2017 season, following his experience in Nascar in 2011. There currently is an uncertainty over space in the team, meaning one driver will have to leave or a seat will need to be added to make space for the 2007 F1 World Champion.

However, several sources claim that nothing is set to be finalized in the coming months, as Kimi Raikkonen’s priority currently is with the Ferrari Formula 1 team, and is pushing ‘very hard’ this year in a bid to retain his Ferrari seat, which would then mean the flying Finn will not be interested in Nascar.

[Emmcee 0]

Who would replace Kimi? As Horner has recently said Ricciardo has a 2017 contract.

[Massa 0]

Who would replace Kimi? As Horner has recently said Ricciardo has a 2017 contract.

Haas has Ferrari ties. If Grosjean can do what he did in Australia with any degree of regularity, the talk of him having a shot at Ferrari that we all laughed off last year just might prove viable. But there's also some component of my wishes there—I've always liked Grosjean because he worked a job at a bank while in GP2/the Renault reserve so that he could stay connected to reality. I think that's somewhat neat.

[Massa 0]

By the way, I've not watched NASCAR since their CEO and multiple drivers endorsed Donald Trump. Just can't support it. But if you do watch, you will enjoy the races. They took the downforce out of the cars this year, and the racing had been the best I'd seen out of NASCAR in ~12 years before I got mad about their political activity.

NASCAR is actually a good alternative to F1 if you can get past the stigma of watching NASCAR. The teams actually build their own cars. A lot build their own motors, too. The budgets are skewed by NASCAR teams running up to 4 cars and having 38 races, but they are the only racing programs that can really rival F1 in that category. A lot of ex-F1 engineers who landed in NASCAR have said it is a bigger challenge because you're trying to make things designed to be undriveable drive. NASCAR does not promote the technical side of their sport (their advertising strategy is "WRECKS FIGHTS HERE IS SOME STOCK FOOTAGE OF YOUNG PRETTY PEOPLE HOLDING BEERS AT A CONCERT THAT WE'VE EDITED TO LOOK LIKE THEY'RE IN THE STANDS AT A CUP RACE"), but I know a number of people in the NASCAR paddock, and there are some fascinating technical wars in stock car racing. No surprise—a lot of the NASCAR teams have bigger factories than the F1 teams do, and obviously the wind tunnel Haas built for NASCAR has been used by tons of F1 teams.

The races are really strategic. A lot of guys push at different points. Lots of calls on tires, and with the lower downforce, tire wear's a bigger factor—tires are starting to control pit stops rather than fuel at some tracks, which makes for exciting racing.

And the top drivers in NASCAR are damn good. Jimmie Johnson may not be the best driver in the world, but I have a hard time finding any racing driver more perfect, more complete. He's so subtly good. You have to really understand racing to see what he does on-track, and that's the sign of someone in absolute command of his discipline to me. He's the hardest worker in NASCAR; totally tireless on getting everything perfect with his team. He gives flawless feedback. He's uncontroversial. And no matter where he runs early in a race, he's in the mix for the win at the end.

It's funny, actually, how Johnson became a 6-time Cup champion. He was actually an off-road racer (motorcycles and trucks) and won a title in the trucks. A very Rick Mears kind of background for a guy who is very Rick Mears in style. Then, he went to NASCAR's second-tier series, and he was...just decent. Only won once. Quietly in the top 10 a lot, but no one ever pegged him to be arguably the best ever. But here's the thing...those races are 200–300 miles. The Cup Series, the top class, runs 400–600 mile races. And Johnson shines in the extra distance because he's so highly skilled. The reason he didn't win 200-milers was that he didn't use his car up. He didn't tear stuff up to get a trophy. And once he got to the top class, that paid off. He knew how to save it for when it counts because he didn't come in with the bad habits of poor race managers.

So, how do I tie this all up? Jamie Whincup, of course. He's headed to NASCAR like Räikkönen, though probably not until 2018. Whincup's another guy like Johnson who doesn't get a lot of credit because he runs a national series of four-door, tin-top, full-fendered cars. He'll be damn good when he makes the switch. Of course, I'm biased—I love J. Dub. Follow him on Twitter if you have it. He's the definition of normcore. I've never read such delightfully normal tweets.

GM should have Whincup and Johnson should pair up at Le Mans in a Corvette, partnered by one of their regular sports car aces. That'd make me happy.

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Whincup is a deuche, I've met the guy a number of times as I live in the same town and the fame has gone to his head. Autograph signings are a chore to him and he shows it in his body language, the bloke sitting next to him though, Craig Lowndes, has all the time in the world. Was at the Gold Coast 600 a few years back and was in a pitwalk when Lowndes came in the pits in his car, got out with his engineers and my three year old said "there lowndesy dad" and Lowndes heard him, came over, got on his knee and shook my sons hand and signed his shirt along with a photo, made my day and certainly my sons, top bloke. Van Gisbergen will blitz him this year and is a lot better driver, HE doesn't get the credit, the guy can drive anything quick from time attack cars to getting sideways with best drifters in the world.

[radical-one 0]

NASCAR is awesome ! I watched it live several times in the US. The fans / spectators themselves are all cool and the racing is totally exhilarating ! they tailgate bumper to bumper inches by inches side by side. Pure V8 engine sound is fantastic !

[BradSpeedMan 6]

NASCAR is actually a good alternative to F1 if you can get past the stigma of watching NASCAR. The teams actually build their own cars. A lot build their own motors, too. The budgets are skewed by NASCAR teams running up to 4 cars and having 38 races, but they are the only racing programs that can really rival F1 in that category. A lot of ex-F1 engineers who landed in NASCAR have said it is a bigger challenge because you're trying to make things designed to be undriveable drive. NASCAR does not promote the technical side of their sport (their advertising strategy is "WRECKS FIGHTS HERE IS SOME STOCK FOOTAGE OF YOUNG PRETTY PEOPLE HOLDING BEERS AT A CONCERT THAT WE'VE EDITED TO LOOK LIKE THEY'RE IN THE STANDS AT A CUP RACE"), but I know a number of people in the NASCAR paddock, and there are some fascinating technical wars in stock car racing. No surprise—a lot of the NASCAR teams have bigger factories than the F1 teams do, and obviously the wind tunnel Haas built for NASCAR has been used by tons of F1 teams.

The races are really strategic. A lot of guys push at different points. Lots of calls on tires, and with the lower downforce, tire wear's a bigger factor—tires are starting to control pit stops rather than fuel at some tracks, which makes for exciting racing.

They drive around in oval circles. Where's the fun in that?

Just joking, maybe Kimi will just peak my interest in it

[Emmcee 0]

People don't realise just how competitive NASCAR is, it's incredible to watch and to have 20 odd cars seperate by half a second in qualifying, it is a spectacle on its own. I used to hate NASCAR but that's before I sat down and actually watched it with interest in what was going on and after that, I was hooked.

[Sakae 0]

NASCAR is not working for me. I've attended inaugural Indy (brickyard) 400 (while in town on business trip - how convenient), and it was bummer. To make long story short, and speaking about my own experience only, 30 changes in race lead is even more boring than no changes at all as in F1. If I need all kind of gimmicks on my TV screen pointing to cars just to let me know who is who - thanks, but no thanks. I rather would watch motorcycles, or leave motor sport altogether. So, I've tried.

[Emmcee 0]

NASCAR is not working for me. I've attended inaugural Indy (brickyard) 400 (while in town on business trip - how convenient), and it was bummer. To make long story short, and speaking about my own experience only, 30 changes in race lead is even more boring than no changes at all as in F1. If I need all kind of gimmicks on my TV screen pointing to cars just to let me know who is who - thanks, but no thanks. I rather would watch motorcycles, or leave motor sport altogether. So, I've tried.

Fair enough, each to there own.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Kimi won't goto Nascar. I can't seem him doing that many races a year living in the USA, nor all the media commitments and so on.

Seriously we're only at Race #2 of 2016 and already the media is going on about replacing Kimi. It's getting tiring at this point. Hopefully he will have a good year this year because I can honestly say I think he'd still like to be racing in F1 for another year or two. Granted maybe not at Ferrari, but a decent team.

Max isn't going to Ferrari just year. He is immature, I think we can all agree at this point and Arrivabene would not tollerate his Sh#t there one bit. Bottas isn't going there either. He can't even beat Massa anymore. Ricci maybe, but he's tied into a pretty secure RBR contract. How about Nico? Not a bad idea. Sainz might be a good outside option actually. I'm quite warming to him alot.

I can't see GRO going there yet. So what if Haas is close to Ferrari, that's not a shoo-in. He's got to perform.

As much as Ferrari have traditionally liked a #1 and a #2, I think they really want two drivers who can win races, and who DON'T create drama of have the ability to. That's the affect of Alonso really. They need stability and some years of peace and right now they have it.

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Kimi won't goto Nascar. I can't seem him doing that many races a year living in the USA, nor all the media commitments and so on.

Seriously we're only at Race #2 of 2016 and already the media is going on about replacing Kimi. It's getting tiring at this point. Hopefully he will have a good year this year because I can honestly say I think he'd still like to be racing in F1 for another year or two. Granted maybe not at Ferrari, but a decent team.

Max isn't going to Ferrari just year. He is immature, I think we can all agree at this point and Arrivabene would not tollerate his Sh#t there one bit. Bottas isn't going there either. He can't even beat Massa anymore. Ricci maybe, but he's tied into a pretty secure RBR contract. How about Nico? Not a bad idea. Sainz might be a good outside option actually. I'm quite warming to him alot.

I can't see GRO going there yet. So what if Haas is close to Ferrari, that's not a shoo-in. He's got to perform.

As much as Ferrari have traditionally liked a #1 and a #2, I think they really want two drivers who can win races, and who DON'T create drama of have the ability to. That's the affect of Alonso really. They need stability and some years of peace and right now they have it.

Some fans actually want Kimi to stay, Ferrari kick out Vettel, and replace him with DR as a better driver - proven beyond shadow of doubt (to them) in 2014. (No kidding, I came accross quite a few of these kind of discussions).

[Publius Cornelius Scipio 0]

As much as Ferrari have traditionally liked a #1 and a #2, I think they really want two drivers who can win races

maybe they have come to the conclusion that Kimi is unlikely to ever win another F1 race

[Sakae 0]

Kimi might stay for another year, if he performs. He seems to be genuinely liked by MA and Allison. Sainz I think is a real deal; he just had pile of bad luck with his equipment, but he is not far behind MV, if at all.

[Emmcee 0]

What it prooves to me is Ferrari really value Kimi and are looking for options for him if they do have to drop him as the link with haas being there b team and NASCAR, the only other person they did this for was Schumacher so he must be pretty valuable to the team,but I think "koolmonkey" is right, to many races and commitment at the end of his career, but it is an option if he chose to continue a flat out schedule. IMO it would be very unlikely Kimi might win again but it also says that Ferrari will only replace him if they can get hold of someone younger and better or he chooses to retire, otherwise why replace him? Gets along well with Vettel and the team obviously want him around still, maybe the engineers like his laid back approach, that's what I make out of it anyway.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

What it prooves to me is Ferrari really value Kimi and are looking for options for him if they do have to drop him as the link with haas being there b team and NASCAR, the only other person they did this for was Schumacher so he must be pretty valuable to the team,but I think "koolmonkey" is right, to many races and commitment at the end of his career, but it is an option if he chose to continue a flat out schedule. IMO it would be very unlikely Kimi might win again but it also says that Ferrari will only replace him if they can get hold of someone younger and better or he chooses to retire, otherwise why replace him? Gets along well with Vettel and the team obviously want him around still, maybe the engineers like his laid back approach, that's what I make out of it anyway.

Kimi is very much loved by the Ferrari crew...the mechanics, pitcrew and engineers. What they appreciate even more, is that he never ever bags or blame the team, even when things go wrong

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That is true, probably just the attitude and

Just the general lay backed vibe he puts in the team also helps massively. That's probably why he got his seat back.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Kimi's never bagged his team ever. When the frauds at "Lotus" failed to pay him and Mr "Fwit" Permaine publicly lashed him over the radio, that's about as close as he got to bagging his own team. Even then he didn't say anything really negative, rather just stated his case.

After Alonso, you can be certain Ferrari appreciate Kimi because they can get on with the work at hand and not have to worry about The Emporer's snide backhanded comments all the time. I think if he does perform and let's say Ricci is still in a contract, I see no reason for them to replace him. It will still probably come down to Kimi wanting to stay and results, but I don't feel he's ready to retire yet.

Brad, for sure Kimi's been loved at pretty much all his teams, other than at the end at "Lotus".

[rodders47 2]

I watch Nascar on the pay TV but it gets a bit boring as well, especially when someone sneezes and the track catches a cold so that evryone has to go behind the safety car, like I do think they use the safety car a bit too much in american oval racing.

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Kimi's never bagged his team ever. When the frauds at "Lotus" failed to pay him and Mr "Fwit" Permaine publicly lashed him over the radio, that's about as close as he got to bagging his own team. Even then he didn't say anything really negative, rather just stated his case.

After Alonso, you can be certain Ferrari appreciate Kimi because they can get on with the work at hand and not have to worry about The Emporer's snide backhanded comments all the time. I think if he does perform and let's say Ricci is still in a contract, I see no reason for them to replace him. It will still probably come down to Kimi wanting to stay and results, but I don't feel he's ready to retire yet.

Brad, for sure Kimi's been loved at pretty much all his teams, other than at the end at "Lotus".

Ricciardo is the driver they want and I think Horner was stating he was on a contract to hint if they want him, they'll have to pay for him as we all know, contracts me jack in f1. Even coulthard said Ricciardo is there first pick.

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Ricciardo is the driver they want and I think Horner was stating he was on a contract to hint if they want him, they'll have to pay for him as we all know, contracts me jack in f1. Even coulthard said Ricciardo is there first pick.

In reference to Horner, he was answering to media who would replace DR (should he go elsewhere), thus what do you want him to say? Do not forget that drivers market will open for next year. Notable Rosberg, Kimi, and Button (if I am not mistaken). There could be others, so, it is not just about Ferrari vacancy. At the end who wants to predict what Alonso will do. It will be massive.

[KoolMonkey 0]

I'm still not convinced Ricci is Ferrari's top target. I think at present it's not a driver, but performance they want. They want to be winning races and just getting a new driver isn't going to make that sort of difference. Thus really having Kimi and Vettel is a good yardstick to see how they have improved. I would not mind Ricci at Ferrari to be honest, but I just don't see them wanting to buy him out to get him. Very few drivers have busted their contracts in recents times to move. Button doing it twice is actually the last driver I recall and that was over a decade ago.

The driver market will be very interesting, but we really do have to take it with a grain of salt. For starters its often the drivers own managers they are trying to stir the pot with stories of such and such going to a team.

Bottas is old news, he hasn't improved in my view when Williams had a cracker of a car two years ago. The Hulk, Perez, all those guys won't be going to the top teams. GRO can forget it for now. I admire his optimism but he's not a Ferrari driver.

Sainz, Nico, Ricci I can see all those guys at Ferrari.

Hamiton... NO. Neither Marchionne or Arrivabenne would tolerate his sh|t even for a day, let alone a 2-3 year contract. He would be a terrible ambassador for Ferrari, something he's continued to show as being bad for Mercedes.

Alonso... back to Renault or off to Le Mans and Porsche with Webber.

Button might stick around for another year, but his time is nearly done.

Max... NO. He's already too arrogant and big headed. He's not going to last long at this rate unless he gets a major kick up the backside, and RBR are ruthless in how they treat their drivers, so he might just be in the best place at present. Look at the long list of ex STR and RBR drivers. More STR than RBR mind you, but you get my point.

Kvyat... NO. He might have a good couple of years at RBR, but then they might drop him and that's that. Has happened before.

Really I see Ferrari as choosing between Nico, Sainz and Ricci. But I have read Nico is first in-line for a 2017 contract extension, so that would interesting and kind of cool if he stays with Merc. But I really hope he doesn't end up a Rubens because he's better than that.

[Publius Cornelius Scipio 0]

it's interesting to notice how different people can see the same situations in a different light. The way I see Kimi at Ferrari is that he's there because he doesn't create many problems, he cannot challenge Vettel (so there is a #1 and a #2 even without having to impose orders) yet he often brings some points home (albeit not as many as Arrivabene would like him to), he's on very good terms with Vettel and above all Ferrari is still looking for the driver that they belive will lead the team in a few years a time in the post-Vettel era and Kimi is a decent stop gap.

You guys claim that everyone loves him at Ferrari and that they have huge respect for him: maybe you and I have talked to different people at Ferrari and I gather that the international press has completely different stories from the Italian press because one of the few things that can be considered certain these days is that after any race there will be an interview on Autosprint where Arrrivabene says that Kimi could and should have done more or an article on a national newspaper where they compare Kimi to a "boiled fish" (that is a rather harsh view that I don't personally share)

[Sakae 0]

I'm still not convinced Ricci is Ferrari's top target. I think at present it's not a driver, but performance they want. They want to be winning races and just getting a new driver isn't going to make that sort of difference. Thus really having Kimi and Vettel is a good yardstick to see how they have improved. I would not mind Ricci at Ferrari to be honest, but I just don't see them wanting to buy him out to get him. Very few drivers have busted their contracts in recents times to move. Button doing it twice is actually the last driver I recall and that was over a decade ago.

The driver market will be very interesting, but we really do have to take it with a grain of salt. For starters its often the drivers own managers they are trying to stir the pot with stories of such and such going to a team.

Bottas is old news, he hasn't improved in my view when Williams had a cracker of a car two years ago. The Hulk, Perez, all those guys won't be going to the top teams. GRO can forget it for now. I admire his optimism but he's not a Ferrari driver.

Sainz, Nico, Ricci I can see all those guys at Ferrari.

Hamiton... NO. Neither Marchionne or Arrivabenne would tolerate his sh|t even for a day, let alone a 2-3 year contract. He would be a terrible ambassador for Ferrari, something he's continued to show as being bad for Mercedes.

Alonso... back to Renault or off to Le Mans and Porsche with Webber.

Button might stick around for another year, but his time is nearly done.

Max... NO. He's already too arrogant and big headed. He's not going to last long at this rate unless he gets a major kick up the backside, and RBR are ruthless in how they treat their drivers, so he might just be in the best place at present. Look at the long list of ex STR and RBR drivers. More STR than RBR mind you, but you get my point.

Kvyat... NO. He might have a good couple of years at RBR, but then they might drop him and that's that. Has happened before.

Really I see Ferrari as choosing between Nico, Sainz and Ricci. But I have read Nico is first in-line for a 2017 contract extension, so that would interesting and kind of cool if he stays with Merc. But I really hope he doesn't end up a Rubens because he's better than that.

I must say, that despite my almost religious daily following of F1 on and off the track for many years, I must have missed the part, that DR was, and remains preferred driver for Ferrari over Vettel, as claimed by some posters. This is not intended as much as an attack on DR, as admission that I have not come across of it, be it prior, during, or after 2014. I seems to recall MA was admitting last year they had "a list" containing many names, including Bottas and people who gave them unsolicited calls, but that was as much as it was, and I took notice of it. There is of course no reason not to think, that DR wasn't on that list, just as perhaps Hamilton. Being considered, even if it takes 5 min is called due dilligence process, so, that's how it should be. Being however selected on Ferrari's criteria is something else. I recal once Michael was explaining how he was consulted about candidate's driving style with aim to figure out whether both cars could have similar setup. This practice seems to had been abandoned in favor of Alonso, whose style is very much different from Kimi's, and based on racing results, consequently it has backfired big way on Maranello and people who used to work there. Today both drivers have similar styles, and it is working, even if some people are thinking that Kimi is dragging Ferrari down. I am not sure that I would agree. Not yet.

[Sakae 0]

it's interesting to notice how different people can see the same situations in a different light. The way I see Kimi at Ferrari is that he's there because he doesn't create many problems, he cannot challenge Vettel (so there is a #1 and a #2 even without having to impose orders) yet he often brings some points home (albeit not as many as Arrivabene would like him to), he's on very good terms with Vettel and above all Ferrari is still looking for the driver that they belive will lead the team in a few years a time in the post-Vettel era and Kimi is a decent stop gap.

You guys claim that everyone loves him at Ferrari and that they have huge respect for him: maybe you and I have talked to different people at Ferrari and I gather that the international press has completely different stories from the Italian press because one of the few things that can be considered certain these days is that after any race there will be an interview on Autosprint where Arrrivabene says that Kimi could and should have done more or an article on a national newspaper where they compare Kimi to a "boiled fish" (that is a rather harsh view that I don't personally share)

True, but it has been noted that Arrivabene can critique both drivers by the same standard. I am not sure that I have said they love Kimi, but from what I read, he has better relationship with his team, than Alonso ever had. I should add, if Ferrari is looking for long term replacement, than this would be some one younger than DR, I would think.