“We will miss him a lot” – Fernando Alonso says he had a “fantastic time” with Kimi Raikkonen in F1

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso says he will miss racing against Kimi Raikkonen in the top flight of motorsport from the upcoming season.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, the Spaniard said:

“Obviously, we both had a fantastic time in Formula 1, we both won a championship which maybe, in 2001, we were not sure of that success at that moment.”

“But I’m happy to share so many years with Kimi; he is a very good character in Formula 1, and we will miss him a lot next year.”

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen both made their F1 debuts in 2001 and raced against each other for nearly two decades. In 2005 and 2007, the pair were involved in intense championship battles with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton respectively.

Kimi Raikkonen decided to retire from F1 at the end of the 2021 season after three average seasons with Alfa Romeo/Sauber. The Finn, however, has revealed that he isn’t retiring from racing entirely, and is open to some that are “sensible”.

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Fernando Alonso hopeful of third F1 world title with Alpine

Fernando Alonso had beaten the great Michael Schumacher and Ferrari to clinch two consecutive F1 world titles with Renault in 2005-06. The Spaniard's quest for a third title, however, has evaded him for nearly 15 years.

During that time, the Spaniard raced for two of the most iconic teams on the F1 grid – McLaren and Ferrari, but failed to repeat his championship success. Now, back with his “home” team Renault for a third stint, Fernando Alonso is hopeful that the sweeping regulation changes for 2022 might finally give him the opportunity to fight for his elusive third title.

Despite being in his 40s, Fernando Alonso has time and again shown the world that he has lost none of his race craft and skills. After four frustrating years with McLaren, he took a sabbatical from F1 to try his hand at other categories with varying levels of success. He notched up two consecutive top-class Le Mans victories while coming agonizingly close to a top 5 finish in last year’s Dakar Rally, on his very first attempt.

Furthermore, Alonso believes that the newly restructured and rebranded Alpine-Renault team is just as ready to fight for wins and championships and that the “time for excuses” is over.