Kimi Raikkonen admits he is happy to leave the “bullsh*t” in Formula 1 behind after retiring at the end of last season.
The 2007 world champion had decided 2021 would be his last year even before the opening race in Bahrain, bringing a career spanning three decades to an end after a record-setting 349 Grand Prix starts.
In typical Kimi fashion, there wasn’t too much fanfare at his farewell race in Abu Dhabi, and the former Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Alfa Romeo driver concedes he was more than ready to walk away.
“Only time will tell,” he told BILD when asked how much he would miss F1.
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“What I already know – driving is the only thing I liked about it! I may never set foot in the paddock again.
“Formula 1 was never my life. There were always things that were more important to me. Nothing will change about that.
“I didn’t stop because I didn’t have the strength but because I have better things to do than sit on planes and stay in hotels.”
Having spent longer than most in the paddock, Raikkonen was also more than pleased to step away from the politics and media games that go on.
“There are so many things that are making no sense, at least in my head, what happens here [in F1],” he said.
“All kinds of bullsh*t that goes around. We know it, but nobody says it. Things that I don’t think that even should be.
“A lot of things are such fake things in here. It’s good to be out. Mentally, it’s very good to be out of all of that bullsh*t for a while.”
As for what comes next, Kimi acknowledged there was one thing he was looking forward to more than most.
“That vacation is vacation again,” he declared. “Otherwise, we only had the summer break.
“That was two and a half weeks in which you had to continue training and always had in the back of your mind that afterwards, the normal madness would be back.”
Beyond that, on his plans, Raikkonen said he is “always open to listen if it’s something that makes sense”.
He has also already been confirmed in one new role, that being team principal of his renamed KRT MXGP team which is partnering with Kawasaki for 2022.
“It’s no secret that, for me, one of my great passions in life for many years has been motocross but this team is not what you might call a hobby; it’s very serious, very focused and we aspire to be the best we possibly can,” he explained.
“Now I have retired from racing I will be able to spend more time on this project; not on the daily issues but more from a strategic point of view using my experience of how teams work and what creates success on the world stage.
“Everyone including myself is delighted that Kawasaki has chosen us to be the Factory team.
“I know that the chance of success is always greater with direct factory support so this translates into a great opportunity for us as the new Kawasaki Racing Team in MXGP.”
