Sauber urged Raikkonen to stay in motorsport The Icers are expected to return to the field a year later

After the end of last season, Finnish Iceman Raikkonen left Alfa Romeo to retire from F1, but Sauber Group still hopes that the experienced veteran will continue to stay in motorsport, and it is reported that Raikkonen is expected to return to the race in a year, but the probability of returning to F1 is low.

The 41-year-old has played in the paddock for almost two decades and currently holds the record for the most appearances in Formula 1. In 2007 he won his first and only F1 world title at Ferrari, and in 2010 and 2011 he briefly left F1 to compete in the World Rally Championship and THE NASCAR. In 2012, he returned to F1 to join Lotus, then played for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo until last season when the decision to leave F1 was made.

The squad of Alfa Romeo's drivers in the new season will be a combination of Bottas and Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, but they still have not given up their love affair with Raikkonen. As CEO of the Sauber Group and team leader of the Alfa Romeo team, Vassell said in an interview a few days ago: "I once told Kimi that if he wanted to do something else, I could help him, even the Sauber Group would be more than happy to support and find other racing projects. Now Sauber is involved in a lot of racing, including Le Mans and FE. We'd love to see Raikkonen continue to compete, he's still capable enough, even against F1. ”

However, Vassell also revealed that Raikkonen has temporarily rejected Sauber's kindness: "He [Raikkonen] told me that he would prefer to stay away from motorsport in the short term, and then he may come back in six or eight months to consider it, and he has no plans to return to any form of competition in the short term." ”

Raikkonen himself said in an interview the other day that he had spent so many years on the plane and around the world, and now that he was focused on being with family and friends, he was happy to get away from the hustle and bustle of the paddock. As for the future, he would think about it after he had completely relaxed himself, and for the time being he didn't want these plans to disrupt his life. (Text/Li Tianyou)