It’s another weekend in Austria as teams get ready for the end of the triple-header on Sunday. It is also a Friday, which means that the free practice sessions are underway.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso has had quite a run during the qualifying sessions in the recent races, with three Q3 appearances and finishing with points on Sunday.

The Spaniard sat out for the first practice session as Zhou took his place. For FP2, Alonso went out on soft tires and started fifth on his first real flying lap. With the evening already full of angry drivers, Alonso soon joined the group. 

Fernando was on the final turn to the start-finish straight as Kimi Raikkonen narrowly missed the Alpine. Alonso, who was completing a timed lap, wasn’t too impressed with Raikkonen’s conduct on track. 

The driver vented his frustrations on the team radio: “I can’t believe it. I f*cking can’t believe it” After accusing the driver in front of him for having no mirrors, questioned his race engineer: “Who was the guy?”. To this, he got a simple answer, “Raikkonen”.

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Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso: A 2o- year -old rivalry

Back in 2001, Raikkonen and Alonso entered their debut seasons to the sport and have dueled each other ever since. This also includes their 2007 contention for the title that saw Raikkonen beat Alonso.

As teammates and as rivals, the battles between the two have always been respectful. Raikkonen has said, “Some years we had year-long battles, and it’s always fair and clean.

“So I have some good memories from it.” He added, “unfortunately we came off worse sometimes, and sometimes better. That’s how it goes in the racing.”

Raikkonen may also be the only driver on the grid who is as experienced as Alonso. The two veterans of the sport find themselves in similar situations as they often see each other competing for a position on the midfield. 

The final ten minutes of the session didn’t seem to deter Alonso as he placed eighth at the end of the session. And even though the 39-year-old really couldn’t believe it, we hope to see him race just as well in tomorrow’s qualifying session; and hopefully, next time the Iceman won’t anger el matador.

Watch story: F1 Drivers Fighting on Track