NASCAR champion eyes Abu Dhabi for potential McLaren test

Kyle Larson is open to a potential McLaren F1 test after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after failing to conduct one earlier this year.

Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, is regarded as one of the finest natural talents seen in NASCAR. He further made a name for himself when he boldly claimed this year he could beat F1 champion Max Verstappen, in the right circumstances.

This drew criticism from some people in Europe as no driver has successfully moved from NASCAR to F1, whilst only Juan Pablo Montoya has gone directly in the opposite direction. 

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is open to giving Larson a test, however, the 32-year-old American does not currently qualify for a full FIA super licence. 

Larson has accumulated 29 points from his first, seventh and second-place finishes in the Cup competition since 2021, but as the Charlotte road-course/oval hybrid - the roval - is not FIA homologated, the NASCAR Cup does not count towards super licence points totals. 

However, he could still take part in a test session, with the Hendrick Motorsports driver revealing he has missed out on one possible chance.

"I would love to do it, and it sounds like hopefully, I'll get to it down the road," he told the Happy Hour podcast with NASCAR icon Kevin Harvick. 

"I think it was an option this year, I just had so much going on.

"It's like something that I need to plan probably a year in advance or more. I would like to, but, honestly, I would rather do it on one of those open test-style deals like after Abu Dhabi when other drivers are on the track, too.

"I think that driver swaps are really cool, but you don't have like a bar. You don't have a gauge of where you stack up to others who do it.

"It would be fun to do that with Oscar [Piastri] or Lando [Norris] or whoever, but I would love to strap in with 19 other cars out there and see where you're at on the speed charts."

Larson's F1 test?

One criticism of Larson's comments that he would beat Verstappen is that he has never driven a single-seater on a road course, with his only open-wheel race being the 2024 Indianapolis 500. 

He is to try again at Indy next year with McLaren, but of the potential F1 outing with McLaren, Larson says he would hope to show off the "unique" skill of oval racers.

"Obviously, I don't think that I would be the best, but I would hope to not be last," he added.

"I think that would show how good American oval racers are and unique, or if I was really bad, then it would just show how bad we are."