“Something that makes sense” – Kimi Raikkonen on racing after retiring from F1

Former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen has revealed that he is open to other forms of racing beyond his F1 career. The former Alfa Romeo driver decided to retire at the end of the 2021 season after nearly two decades in the sport.

Speaking about his future beyond F1 in an interview with GPFans after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the veteran F1 driver said:

“I’m always open to listen if it’s something that makes sense, but I don’t know, as simple as that, and time will tell.”

“I’ll do normal things and see what comes up. If it’s something interesting, then maybe I’ll do something.”

“Time will tell. So far, I have zero plans and I don’t want to make plans because right now I have the freedom to do things with the family, so we’ll see.”

Kimi Raikkonen is no stranger to other racing categories and has famously dabbled in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and NASCAR.

At the end of 2009, Ferrari chose to release Raikkonen from his contract early to make way for Fernando Alonso. The following season, Raikkonen participated in the WRC with Citroen with Red Bull’s backing. He finished 10th overall during the season with 25 points and a victory in Rallye Vosgien.

In 2011, Raikonnen tried his hand at NASCAR, starting with the Camping World Truck series. He then progressed to Nationwide series, and was generally well regarded for his racecraft. Despite his potential pace, however, Raikkonen failed to have any significant success in the series.

Post NASCAR, the Finn made a comeback to F1 during the 2012 season with the Lotus F1. He won two races for the team before moving back to Ferrari for the 2014 season.

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Kimi Raikkonen looking forward to “doing nothing” at home

Kimi Raikkonen has revealed that he is looking forward to his retirement from F1 and spending time at home “doing nothing in particular”. Raikonnen has revealed that the constant traveling he had to do for F1 had taken away too much time from his life, and he looked forward to not traveling after retirement.

In a post-season interview with Auto Motor und Sport, the 2007 F1 world champion said:

“I’ve been away from home too often. I hate schedules. I’ve lived it all my life. Now I’m looking forward to going into the day without any fixed plans.”

“I love being at home and am looking forward to spending more time with my family and doing normal things. My free time is more important to me than anything else.”

Kimi Raikkonen has revealed that he is happy that his time in the sport has come to an end, and that he is looking forward to “doing other things” in life.

Throughout his career, the Finn has been known for his dislike towards media duties. He has usually chosen to answer as briefly as possible during interviews, leading to his iconic “one-liners”.

While his coldness in public has earned him his “Iceman” nickname, Raikkonen is known to be much friendlier in private.

Famously, he has a close relationship with former Ferrari teammate and fellow F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. During his brief career with Alfa Romeo, Raikkonen also developed a good-natured relationship with teammate Antonio Giovinazzi.