Alfa Romeo Racing Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen is welcoming Fernando Alonso back to F1 as he recalls their tussles being “fair and clean”.
Fernando Alonso will be hoping he does not see too much of his old rival in races this year, with the Alpine expected to be ahead of the Alfa Romeo.
But from Kimi Raikkonen’s perspective, he would certainly not mind the opportunity of a few more on-track scraps with the Spaniard.
It is 20 years this month since Alonso and Raikkonen made their Formula 1 race debuts at the Australian Grand Prix for Minardi and Sauber respectively.
Four years later, Alonso became World Champion for Renault, defended the title the following year and was then dethroned by Kimi Raikkonen in a Ferrari.
The duo had one year as team-mates with the Scuderia, 2014, before Alonso made way for Sebastian Vettel and headed to McLaren.
That was a disappointing campaign for both Ferrari drivers as Alonso recorded only two podium finishes, the best of which was a second place in Hungary, while Kimi failed to make the rostrum.
“Obviously over the years, we had [in] some years more battles than others,” said Kimi Raikkonen, quoted by RacingNews365 – “But some years we had year-long battles and it’s always fair and clean. So I have good memories from it. Unfortunately we came off worse sometimes, and sometimes better. That’s how it goes in the racing.”
In terms of Alonso’s return to F1 after two years away, that also mirrors the ‘sabbatical’ Kimi Raikkonen took in 2010-11 between his first Ferrari spell and comeback with Lotus.
“I didn’t struggle much to come back,” said the 41-year-old who, like Alonso, drove in other disciplines rather than completely taking time out – “It wasn’t like you forgot how to drive F1 cars and you get to test before and it’s all back to normal, so I’m sure he will return.” – Kimi added.
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