"He doesn’t know all these drivers" - Daniel Suarez issues short caution to Cup Series debutant Kimi Raikkonen

Daniel Suarez waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Daniel Suarez waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Daniel Suarez and his team are excited to hit the Watkins Glen ground with a new member of their Trackhouse racing team on Sunday, August 21. The new member is Kimi Raikkonen, who will pilot the No. 91 car for Trackhouse racing.

Daniel Suarez is one of the drivers who has had the chance to see others turn laps in preparation for his big day. Following his preparation lap, Suarez has admitted that he admires Kimi's determination to make his debut a success.

According to Suarez, if he was going to race in Europe one day, he wishes he could prepare himself just like the F1 star. Suarez, who also got the opportunity to join the veteran F1 driver in a two-hour driver orientation test at Virginia International Raceway, says he doesn't know how Kimi will be able to be competitive. And yet, he doesn't know all the drivers.

According to Daniel Suarez, F1 is different from NASCAR since NASCAR drivers are more aggressive with each other compared to the F1 series.

In a media interview, Suarez had words of caution for his new teammate, saying:

"It's different, and he doesn't know all these drivers. He doesn't know how they race. He doesn't know how aggressive they are, so that part is going to take a little bit."

On matters concerning speed, Suarez thinks Kimi will do great on that part.

Kimi Raikkonen is a world-class racer who dominated the Formula 1 series before his retirement in 2019 and he'll be making his cup series debut at The Glen this weekend. As an icon in the racing world, most of his fans, including some NASCAR drivers, would wish to meet and have a word with him.


Daniel Suarez's performance in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season

Daniel Suarez is currently having one of his best seasons, having secured his first win in his 195th career start at Sonoma Road Course, becoming the first Mexican native to win a Cup Series trophy. This win earned him a direct ticket to the playoffs, which are set to kick off next month.

Of the four road course events held this season, Suarez has had an average performance, recording a 24th finish at COTA before winning the Sonoma race. After Sonoma, he scored another top-five finish at Road America, where he finished 5th. In the recently concluded road course at Indianapolis, the No. 99 driver went home with a 28th finish.

Suarez will arrive at The Glen with a 19th finish that he scored at Richmond last weekend. The past three races haven't been kind to him, and he'll be looking forward to turning things around this weekend.

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