The Styrian hills do not disappoint, and the qualifying session for Sunday’s race had the fans on the edge of their seats. Once again, there was a lot of traffic on the track because of the short nature of the circuit, and Fernando Alonso fell victim to this problem once again. On what could have been the deciding pace for him to get into Q3, Sebastian Vettel interrupted him. Alonso was quick to anger, while birthday boy Vettel immediately apologized on the track.

In a post-race interview, Vettel was asked about the incident. Seb mentions the disregard for the gentlemen’s agreement on track.

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“I think it’s the fault of the drivers ahead that just keep jumping the queue and jumping the queue. I don’t think that is right and not sort of, what we agree to.”

After Seb questioned whether the agreement has ever been in place, the interviewer joked and asked him Vettel to discuss it with the other drivers. He replied, “We don’t talk to each other. We talk about each other but not to each other.”

It’s unclear if Vettel was joking because the drivers seem to have a good relation off track; he is also a fan favorite because of his very lovable personality, which is surely replicated both off and on track. However, the German may imply otherwise – stating that drivers aren’t as close as they seem, or it could also be a jab at the Spaniard.

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso – the rivalry of the veterans

Being two veterans of the sport, Vettel and Alonso have had some epic on-track battles; the comparatively minor incident in the qualifying round is just another one to add to the list.

It is often believed that Vettel reminded Alonso of everything he had failed to achieve. The Spaniard hoped to build on the two championships he had bagged when he shifted to Ferrari; it was then Red Bull started asserting their dominance on the track.

As much as the Ferrari driver pushed himself and the car, the machine was not good enough to compete with Red Bull, and more precisely, Vettel. Ever since then, Fernando has been close enough to smell victory but could never grab it.

Even today, the two may not be in the most competitive cars, but it’s a bittersweet feeling seeing the sparks of a possible rivalry again.

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