Formula 1 loses a world champion this year as Finn Kimi Räikkönen has retired. But the former Alfa Romeo driver went through the category’s official podcast to remember relevant moments in his career.
Kimi raikkonen he made his Formula 1 debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, the same day as Fernando Alonso. Both soon became the replacement of Michael Schumacher, honoring this responsibility.
Both also took a break from F1 for two seasons and tried their luck in other disciplines, ending up returning to the category that elevated them.
“Something strange happened between us when we were teammates at Ferrari”
They even became teammates at Ferrari in 2014, before Fernando Alonso He will go to McLaren to undertake the failed adventure with Honda.
Obviously, this has caused both of them to have competed on multiple occasions together, wheel by wheel (in fact, they are the two drivers with the most Grand Prix disputed) and Kimi Räikkönen recalled his experiences with Alonso in Beyond The Grid, the official podcast of the Formula 1.
“I think it has always been very good,” says the Finn. «As a teammate, I’m sure something strange happened between us.. Of course, 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. “
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Räikkönen has always been known to avoid political games on his teams, so he never influenced who his teammates would be. «I have never been in a position to choose who my teammate is, so it could be anyone. I think that’s good because it forces the drivers to put pressure on each other. I don’t see any negative aspects.
“Some people are more interested in looking at the ranking numbers, this or that. Honestly, I haven’t been too worried about beating my teammate in qualifying. For me, the race has always been the important part of the weekend »explains Räikkönen.
The duels with Alonso
As we said, throughout more than 300 Grand Prix together, Räikkönen and Alonso have met on the track often, getting to know each other perfectly. Recently, the Spaniard recognized that it had always been a pleasure to share experiences with the Finn because of his honesty. Now the Finn has praised his opponent’s cleanliness on the track, something that is always highly valued among veteran drivers.
“We have had some good battles this year and we ended up competing with 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 run with him very closely, it was always like that with him », he points out.
«You know what is going to happen and what is not. So yeah, it’s different. You get what you expect and with some other people you are not so sure », concludes.