Raikkonen: So much politics and bullsh*t in F1 that it is crazy

Kimi Raikkonen does not suffer fools gladly and although of late the Ferrari driver has been notably quiet with regards to the shenanigans in Formula 1 which are largely capturing negative headlines while attracting the wrath of fans.

But Raikkonen emerged from his shell in Bahrain this weekend when the 2007 F1 World Champion told ESPN, "There is so much politics and bullshit in F1 that it is crazy sometimes. People from the outside must look at us and think: what stupid people, what are they doing?"

Raikkonen, well known for not mincing his words, continued, "I don't think it is good for anybody, but unfortunately it is how F1 is and it's been like that for years. Now there are bigger stories about it, but if you take ten years ago there was still politics and it's just the evolution of it."

Nevertheless, the veteran of 232 grand prix starts and 20 victories, acknowledges that F1 is still the pinnacle of the sport.

"If you want to do racing on circuits then for sure F1 is still the top level and the fastest cars. Obviously things can be improved, but if you want to look at racing on circuits, then F1 is still that way," insisted Raikkonen.

In 2010 and 2011 Raikkonen famously ditched F1 to puruse his interests in rallying and also had a dabble in Nascar.

He recalled, "I enjoyed it a lot when I did rallies and also some NASCAR stuff, but they are all so different how they are run and how the atmosphere is. Those things are different but there are good and bad things in that, nothing is perfect."

Raikkonen revealed his respect for drivers in other disciplines of motorsport, "If you take the top rally guys it is absolutely amazing what they do. If you take the top NASCAR guys it's not like we can jump in and suddenly beat them. They own the things that they do, but if they came here they would be in trouble also."

"It depends what you are used to and what you do, but if you just want to look at the highest level of racing at race circuits, for sure it is F1," declared the 36 year old Finn who made his F1 debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.