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Raikkonen: Sim racing not the reason I chose this profession

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Kimi Raikkonen says he has no interest in joining virtual world of racing, the Alfa Romeo driver preferring to bide his time until the real thing returns.

With each passing week, the world of Esports see another high profile F1 name join the fray online. On Sunday, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz made his debut in F1’s Virtual Grand Prix series.

But don’t count on Raikkonen – who preferred to spend as little time as possible in Ferrari’s simulator when he was racing with the Scuderia – to jump the sim racing bandwagon anytime soon.

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“It’s not that I didn’t like it, but let’s just say that flying to Italy to put myself in a simulator was not exactly the reason why I chose this job,” the Finn told Corriere della Sera.

“Running on the track is another thing. And anyway those simulators are completely different and extremely more complex than those of online racing.

“I’m not really interested and prefer to wait until I can get back to a real track.”

It could still be a long wait for the 40-year-old and his colleagues. But Raikkonen is confident Formula 1 and its governing body will only give the green light when the coast is clear.

“The Formula 1 organization and the FIA will make a decision to resume the season when it’s safe again,” he added.

“That decision is not ours, but I am confident they will make a careful decision.”

In the interim, Raikkonen equates the hiatus to very long winter break.

“We normally return to Barcelona for the tests. Now we will go directly to the first race, I do not foresee any problems,” he said. “I am very motivated, I want to race again.”

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