• Ferrari

Raikkonen regrets limited racing opportunities

ESPN Staff
May 21, 2014 « Rosberg not changing approach in Monaco | Ferrari still waiting for Mattiacci lift - Alonso »
© Sutton Images
Enlarge

Kimi Raikkonen admits he would jump at the chance of racing in other series' alongside his commitments in Formula One if it was a viable option to today's drivers.

Raikkonen took a two-year hiatus from F1 at the end of 2009, during which time he competed in the World Rally Championship and NASCAR Trucks. He also tested a GP3 car belonging to Koiranen GP in August last year. This week F1 mourned the loss of three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham and Raikkonen believes drivers today are missing out on the freedom to compete elsewhere enjoyed by previous generations.

"Obviously I read and it was sad to hear that he passed away," Raikkonen said when asked about Brabham's passing. "Obviously these days are different than the days that they used to race and they could do different categories, different races. I think it would be very nice if we would be able to do different things at the same time and different races and try different things.

"But the problem is everything just gets so much more expensive these days and obviously people are more scared that you get hurt and they try to limit everything what you do. So it's a shame because I think it would be more fun for everybody and the other sports would also benefit from it, and F1. It would be nice to do stuff like that."

Raikkonen was otherwise in typical form in Wednesday's FIA press conference, saying simply "no" when asked whether he would repeat last year's gimmick of wearing a James Hunt helmet around the streets of Monaco.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
ESPN Staff Close