The 2022 Formula One season was the first without the presence of Kimi Raikkonen, who retired from racing at the age of 42 after the last race of the previous championship, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the same time, however, the next world championship will still see Fernando Alonso at work, as the two-time Formula One world champion will blow out 42 candles at the end of July.
The two, in addition to having shared a long career in Formula 1, also share some points in common that intertwined over the course of their respective careers: both, in fact, made their Formula 1 debut in 2001 – the Finnish with Sauber and the Spaniard with Minardi. – then finding themselves involved in a fight for the world title, entering at least once in the roll of honor reserved for world champions. In addition to all this, Iceman and Alonso also spent a season as team mates at Ferrari, in a 2014 that kicked off the turbo-hybrid era of the sport.
Interviewed by the podcast Beyond The Grid, Kimi Raikkonen retraced that specific experience lived in Maranello alongside the Spaniard, expressing interesting and unpublished comments:
“I think he’s always been very good. As a team-mate, I’m kind of certain that there was something odd happening, like between us,” – the last Ferrari world champion told the Beyond the Grid Podcast – “For sure, I didn’t have a very good year, for many reasons. I didn’t do that well, but we all know he’s fast every weekend. I’ve never been in a position to pick who my teammate is, so it could be anybody. I think that’s good because it pushes you always and [forces you to] push each other. I don’t see any negatives” – Kimi Raikkonen added.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Unsurprisingly, Kimi Raikkonen has never been too interested in the statistical side of Formula 1, placing more emphasis on purely being quick on race day: “If you purely looked at the numbers of qualifying or this and that, then some people are more interested [in that]. Honestly, I’m not so fussed about winning against my team-mate in qualifying. To me, the race has always been the important part of the weekend.”
“We have had some good battles this year and end up racing against each other. Obviously, we are both in different parts of our careers than we were in those days. I think one thing you can notice is that you can race with him very closely, as it always was with him. You kind of know what’s going to happen or what was not going to happen so, in that way, yes, it’s different. You get what you expect and, with some other people, you are not so sure. With Alonso you can trust him” – Kimi Raikkonen said, about his on-track battles with the Spanish driver.
Leave a Reply