12/04/2025 12:45
Fernando Alonso has heaped further praise on Max Verstappen's
abilities as he aimed a sly dig at fellow world champions Sebastian
Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Alonso was in an effusive mood in
Japan, as he labelled Verstappen "magical" for his pole lap that
set up an unexpected victory at Suzuka, with Red Bull struggling
with its RB21 car. The Aston Martin has been particularly vocal
about Verstappen's skills, and through the years, has indicated
that the successes of Vettel and Hamilton between 2010 and 2020,
when they only failed to win the 2016 title between them was more
down to their Red Bull and Mercedes cars than the drivers
themselves. Speaking once again about Verstappen, Alonso, himself a
two-time world champion, indicated that he felt Verstappen's world
titles were fought for harder than either Vettel or Hamilton,
although he did not directly name the two drivers. "I think he is
the best, I've been saying this for the last few years now, and he
has reached a level that [no other driver has]," Alonso told media
including RacingNews365 . "I like it when people are not winning
with the best car, and everyone is agreeing on that. "There were a
couple of years of domination lately in the last 20 years, with
great drivers and great talent and teams but the victories were on
the easy side. "With Max, in part of 2022, the Ferrari was strong,
and last year he had some strong competitors, and this year as
well, and obviously with 2021 with Lewis [Hamilton]. "So all the
championships Max has won so far, apart from 2023, they were in a
more fighting way than the last two eras of champions."
