After Kimi Raikkonen, 3 More F1 Talents That Could Give NASCAR A Try

Clark. Andretti. Villeneuve. And, as of this weekend, Raikkonen. 

When 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen takes the green flag in Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen, he will be only the fourth F1 world champion to compete in NASCAR’s Cup Series. After 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, he will be only the second driver to make that debut after winning the F1 title. 

(Yes, Mario Andretti got his start in the 1950s equivalent of dirt late models and ended up an F1 World Champion. He won the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and F1 championship, in that order. Andretti was a stock car racer first, and that’s the hill on which I’ve chosen to die.)

With Raikkonen debuting in Trackhouse Racing Team’s PROJECT91, a part-time third entry designated specifically to attract international superstars to one-off starts in NASCAR, and the new Next Gen stock car’s appeal to experienced road racers from Joey Hand to Mike Rockenfeller, it’s worth wondering which F1 talents could next find themselves behind the wheel of a Cup car. Two years ago, who would have predicted Raikkonen set to battle Daniil Kvyat in Cup cars at Watkins Glen?

Here are the three best options for recent F1 talents, sorted from most to least likely to race NASCAR in the next few years. 

Pietro Fittipaldi

Remember him? 

Haas F1’s reserve driver and grandson of Brazilian racing legend and two-time world champion Emerson, Pietro Fittipaldi made two F1 starts at the end of 2020, replacing Romain Grosjean in the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

With finishes of 17th and 19th respectively, just bringing the VF20 home clean for the cash-strapped Haas organization was enough for the team to consider Fittipaldi as a full-season replacement for the departing Nikita Mazepin before signing Kevin Magnussen.

With team owner Gene Haas the only man to currently field teams in both F1 and NASCAR, Fittipaldi would have an easy path into stock cars should he choose, likely through Stewart-Haas Racing affiliate team Rick Ware Racing. In fact, Fittipaldi already has a relationship with Ware, driving the No. 51 IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year.

Of all recent F1 drivers, Fittipaldi has the most experience with oval racing, and for good reason. Despite racing under the flag of Brazil, he was born in Miami and currently lives in Davidson, North Carolina. As such, he is the most recent American citizen to race in F1.

That’s not all he brings to the table. Like…