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1 Month After Kimi Raikkonen’s Brutal Dig, Brad Keselowski & Co. Throw Shade at F1’s Biggest Problem to Establish NASCAR’s Dominance

Published 05/03/2023, 11:00 AM EDT

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Formula 1 is gearing up to embark on its very first leg of the US-based race schedule of the 2023 season. This weekend, the Formula 1 circus travels to Miami, Florida for the second-ever running of a Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome. And while the fans are all geed up for this spectacle in the making, the sport is doing all it can to raise the hype before the big event. Hence, they loaned Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly out to NASCAR under the care of the iconic RFK Racing.

F1 is on the rise in the United States of America. That being said, the fans across the pond already have a fan-favorite racing category; NASCAR. The higher-ups at F1 know this and have decided to join hands with the American Stock Car Championship to create more hype and buzz for the race in Florida. However, even racing series share rivalries, and NASCAR took this opportunity to take a sly jab at F1.

NASCAR embarrasses F1 with DRS-themed Tweet

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During their day out, both the Alpine drivers were seen filming at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. A video of Ocon was released driving the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang earlier yesterday. RFK Racing then chose to follow up with a video of the duo. But the caption was nothing short of a sweet jibe aimed towards F1’s most polarizing affectation.

The storied NASCAR team took to their official Twitter account to share a video Ocon giving it all in their car while Gasly looked on. They captioned the video, “No DRS needed. @OconEsteban is quickly becoming accustomed to the Next Gen car while @PierreGASLY, @Chris_Buescher & @keselowski look on.” This wasn’t the only time F1 was publicly slammed for DRS.

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Last month World Champion and F1 retiree, Kimi Raikkonen was quoted as saying, “There are places you can overtake, and especially in F1, you don’t get a lot of circuits you can have a good race. People can actually overtake without the DRS, and it feels more like a normal older-style F1 racing,” after his one-off appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas.

“Sold to the Americans”: F1 Fans Infuriated as Stefano Domenicali Picks up NASCAR’s Tactics to Make It More Marketable All Over the World

But while F1 tries to expand in the US, its credibility in the country needs a lot of work.

Ex-NASCAR driver makes bold Formula 1 claim

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Formula 1 is a billion-dollar consumable at the moment. It’s safe to say that it’s popularity, in terms of any other racing category is unparalleled at the moment. Naturally, NASCAR should be worried about being pushed out of the spotlight in the US as F1 makes it’s way across the pond.

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But according to ex-Cup Series driver, Clint Bowyer, NASCAR has nothing to worry about. Currently employed as an Analyst by Fox Sports, Bowyer claimed, “I guarantee you I’ll put my money up against this product versus anything F1 brings to the United States.”

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Can F1 dethrone NASCAR as the premier motorsport series in the US?

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Written by:

Anirban Aly Mandal

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Anirban Aly Mandal is a senior F1 writer at EssentiallySports, with over 500 articles published on the platform. Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 while playing on his computer, and he has since then dived deep into the world of motorsports. Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports.
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