Alonso: 'Raikkonen and I have often laughed about how fake F1 is sometimes'

In 2001, two future world champions made their debuts in Formula 1. Fernando Alonso at Minardi and Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber. This season, the two veterans will be racing together for the last time in Formula 1 and Alonso will certainly miss Raikkonen.

Exciting seasons with Raikkonen

In 2005, Alonso and Raikkonen competed for the world title for the first time. Alonso drove at Renault, Raikkonen at McLaren. The Spaniard became world champion that season. Two years later it was Raikkonen's turn, then driving for Ferrari. Alonso finished third that season, just one point behind the Finn.

On the Beyond the Grid podcast Alonso looks back on those days. "When you start in Formula 1, you don't have a clear idea of what the future holds. Kimi and I have had exciting seasons in Formula 1. We have both been world champions, something you can never be sure of when you come into this racing class. I'm very happy to have shared so many years with him."

Loss for Formula 1

After this season, Raikkonen says goodbye to Formula 1. "He is a great personality for Formula One and we will miss him next year. He is one of the drivers you look forward to, especially after the races. He wears the mask of the cold and silent person, but off the track he is very different. Only on those occasions do you get to know the real Kimi."

According to Alonso, Raikkonen and he would often ridicule their own sport. "We live in a bubble, we don't have a normal life. We travel in planes with all the comforts, we stay in five-star hotels, but on Sunday night we are ordinary people. Kimi and I have different ideas about F1 and we have often laughed about how fake F1 is sometimes."