Kyle Larson wants a shot at F1: “Would definitely never turn down the opportunity”

NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has once again started a discussion about him being involved with Formula 1.  Speaking recently on The Pat McAfee Show, the driver explains his ideas around the appeal of F1 with its fans before admitting he would be interested in getting involved somehow. 

“Never been asked to drive in F1,” Larson explained during the show. “I think it’s tough coming from my background of dirt tracks and ovals.” 

The 32-year-old driver’s background doesn’t represent a conventional F1 trajectory, usually consisting of a progression from karting to Formula 3 and Formula 2, with the cream of the crop being chosen for seats in the pinnacle of racing. Larson, coming from a background of dirt track racing and stock cars, diverges from this. It doesn’t mean he isn’t talented enough for such a series, however.

“I went to Abu Dhabi in 2021. It was sick. Like, the event was awesome. I mean, it was incredible.”

This clearly left a lasting impression. 

 “But yeah, the racing – the racing is not what we are accustomed to in America,” he admitted. “Like, I think you… There, it’s crazy how big it is because. Like, it’s not super exciting. But I think it’s the stuff outside of it – the celebrities that are there, the engineering, the money – just everything about that, you know? The big brands on the cars and stuff.”

An opportunity opened up for Larson through discussions with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown in September of 2024. 

“We’ve been chatting about it,” Brown said during an episode of The Happy Hour Podcast. “Kyle, as you can imagine, definitely wants to do it in between our schedule, which goes from February to December, and NASCAR’s schedule, which is February to November.

“Finding that window – we did that with Jimmie Johnson and Fernando [Alonso] in Bahrain with Hendrick Motorsports [in 2018]. That was a lot of fun.

“I’d love to see Kyle in an F1 car. It is something that we’ve discussed and something I think will happen down the road.”

Larson has a strong love for American motorsport, but would be interested in F1 if the opportunity arose. 

“But you know, I feel like NASCAR and IndyCar here in America – like you can’t find much more exciting racing than what we have here. So I’m fortunate to get to run both of them. But I would definitely never turn down the opportunity to go and try it.”