It was a difficult afternoon for two former F1 World Champions who took part in the NASCAR Cup Series sixth round in Austin.
Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button turned back the clock as the F1 elder statesmen partook in the sixth round of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Circuit of the Americas. For “Flying Finn” Raikkonen (whose last win in F1 came at COTA in 2018), it was his second appearance in NASCAR – after his one-off drive at Watkins Glen last August – with Englishman Button making his debut in the competition.
Late drama melts Iceman’s top 6 finish
It was not the most enjoyable afternoon for either man, with Raikkonen the most likely to feel disappointed after finishing 29th out of 30 remaining cars due to a collision and a track limits penalty, having at one stage run in P4. Raikkonen told The Podium Finish,
“Yeah, I think it was not too bad, I mean the car behaved on most of the [time] pretty nicely. We just got unlucky with a few of the incidents and then got taken out a few times but it’s one of those things.”
The 2007 F1 Champion, driving for Trackhouse Racing Team, also spoke of his enjoyment at the style of racing NASCAR brings, saying,
“There are places you can overtake, and especially in F1, you don’t get a lot of circuits you can have a good race […] people can actually overtake without the DRS, and it feels more like a normal older-style F1 racing. In NASCAR, you can have a bit more closer racing. Obviously, the rules are different, they’re more open here. I think it’s more of if you kind of behave, well they’ll behave a similar way against you the way I’ve understood. It makes it more exciting at the end of the races when people can be quite aggressive.”
“In NASCAR, you can have a bit more closer racing. Obviously, the rules are different, they’re more open here. I think it’s more of if you kind of behave, well they’ll behave a similar way against you the way I’ve understood. It makes it more exciting at the end of the races when people can be quite aggressive.”
Kimi Raikkonen may have placed 29th. But the 2007 @F1 champ showcased some incredible poise and competitiveness.
Might we see Kimi later this year?#NASCAR75 | #EchoParkGrandPrix | @ThePodiumFinish | #TeamTPF | @THProject91 pic.twitter.com/BIgMS48Ban
— Rob Tiongson (@RobTiongson) March 27, 2023
Button pushed to the limits after feeling the heat
For the 2009 Champion Button, it was a steep learning curve in his first NASCAR race, admitting his unfamiliarity with car-on-car contact. Speaking to Fox Sports, Button said,
“In Turn 1… I would turn in and get whacked. Luckily it didn’t spin me round and on the exit I got a big whack back. The revenge is enjoyable but there’s points where it feels that we could do better. I mean the action’s amazing, don’t get me wrong, I have to give it to these guys. The first 10 laps, it just destroyed me… every time I was in a corner I had someone overtaking me.”
Despite his F1 experience as well as his residency in sunny Los Angeles, Button also struggled late on due to heat exhaustion.
“I stopped twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me loads of water, and I went back out […] I was so close to getting out of the car because I thought I was going to faint. I must have drank eight or nine bottles of water during the race.”
Despite his struggles, it was a steady debut from Button, who finished 18th, setting him up well for his further two appearances in the competition with Rick Ware Racing, starting with the first running of the Chicago Street Race on July 2nd, before rounding off his stint at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (the layout used in Formula 1 between 2000 and 2007) on August 13th. Raikkonen, when asked if he would be signing up for further races, said he had “no clue”, but after a performance that promised so much, F1 and NASCAR fans alike will surely hope for the ‘Iceman’ to cometh again.
