Max Verstappen continues to demonstrate his sporting greatness. Driving a Red Bull RB21, far from the dominant cars with which he won 3 of his 4 World titles, the Dutch driver has already won a race at the start of this season and seems to be the only driver capable of challenging Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are benefiting from a record-breaking MCL39.
To many in the paddock, the situation of the four-time World Champion strongly resembles that of another World Champion from the early 2010s—Fernando Alonso. In 2010 and 2012, the Spanish driver fought for the Drivers’ Championship against Sebastian Vettel when he was the star of Ferrari, a team Fernando judged to be the third or fourth most competitive at the time.
“I don’t think it’s new what they said in Japan about Max’s situation. Some people are only realizing it now. Max’s situation reminds me a bit of my time at Ferrari in 2010 and 2012. Fighting for the championship until the last race despite driving for the third or fourth most competitive team.” – he pointed out – “Sometimes I didn’t even make it to Q3. Yes, well, a situation like that. We’re talking about exceptional circumstances, not the norm.”
Despite losing both titles back then, Fernando Alonso believes he earned the proper recognition for his efforts, just like Max. Verstappen is also receiving recognition for carrying a team, Red Bull, that was far from the one capable of dominating from 2022 to 2024.
“I believe I received a lot of recognition for those seasons regarding my performances. He receives recognition now because no one doubts that he is the best. But it’s hard. It’s very hard, and you can’t afford any mistakes. In fact, you can’t make a mistake in qualifying, you can’t make a mistake lapping, you can’t make a mistake at all. Otherwise, it’s all over. It’s really an extreme situation, a true challenge,” concluded Fernando Alonso ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend.
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