When Formula One Drivers Retire

When Formula 1 drivers retire, where do they go? In the case of the 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher; his life still goes around F1 cars. In fact, Schumacher is one of the test drivers of the Ferrari F1 team. But I guess not all F1 driver would really stop racing. I am talking about Robert Kubica who plans on giving it a go at rallying.

For me, rallying is like the opposite of F1 when it comes to racing environments. This motor competition makes use of road-legal cars that are specially designed to cope up with the rough terrain when racing. The race track on rallying is not a “circuit” used on F1. Imagine driving at high speeds on gravel roads. Even if a F1 car is built for speed and is integrated with superb suspensions, it wouldn’t last for long on a rough terrain. Maybe that is one of the reasons why Kubica wants to try rallying after his F1 career. It is because of the thrill you can feel when the car runs on such treacherous terrains. And besides, he thinks rallying is fun. I think his F1 experience will make him great when he opts for a rallying career.

One of the F1 drivers that I know have done great after his F1 career is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya is now a NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. He left F1 in 2006 to pursue a career in NASCAR, where he is been absolutely doing well with a number of awards in his hand. He won the 2007-2008 24 Hours of Daytona, where he was the overall winner. He was also given the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series as the Rookie of the Year. The former F1 driver really had a blast even after leaving the most prestigious racing in the world. Surely, no one can deny that he showed excellence as a F1 driver. But his efforts just weren’t enough to break into the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher during his F1 days.

Whatever career F1 drivers decide after their F1 careers, I’m sure they’ll do great because they’re all great. I just don’t think they’ll be successful in doing good in MotoGP and other motorcycle road racing. Imagine the shift, from four-wheels to two-wheels. Unless, they have the bravado of Schumacher and the Doctor, they can race. Well, anyways, whatever they do it would be up to them if the shift will be successful or not.