Alfa Romeo team boss Frédéric Vasseur says that the Sauber group would support Kimi Raikkonen if the Finn decides to return to racing in the future.
Raikkonen, who has raced in Formula 1 for over 20 years and won the 2007 drivers’ championship with Ferrari in 2007, is no stranger to other forms of motorsport either.
In 2010 and 2011, the Finn took a sabbatical from Grand Prix racing and competed in the World Rally Championship, while also trying his hand at racing in the American NASCAR truck series.
The Finn eventually returned to Formula 1 with the Lotus F1 team in 2012 before being lured back to Ferrari as Fernando Alonso’s teammate.
Raikkonen’s second stint with the Italian team was not as good as his first and in 2019 he joined Alfa Romeo F1 Team after making his debut with the team in 2001 when it was still known as the Sauber name.
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— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) December 14, 2021
Vasseur, CEO of Sauber and team principal of Alfa Romeo, would be happy to help Raikkonen find opportunities in other racing series if the Finn were interested.
“I told him that if he wanted to do something else, I could help him, even that [Sauber] Group would be very happy to be supportive and find other projects”, said Vasseur, as quoted by gpfans.com
“They are almost everywhere now – at Le Mans and in Formula E.
“He was clear-headed when he said, ‘No, I’d rather get this done on short notice, and then maybe in six months, eight months, I’d like to do something else.”
Raikkonen has no immediate plans to return to any form of racing in the short term.
He’s now focused on spending time with his family and friends after spending so many years on planes and in different countries around the world – and was happy to get out of Formula 1 shit.
