Fernando Alonso reveals Max Verstappen was the reason why he saw Formula One last year

Fernando Alonso reveals Max Verstappen was the reason why he saw Formula One last year

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso returned to the Formula One circuit this year, as he was on a two-year hiatus. The Spanish driver signed for Alpine, and will drive alongside Esteban Ocon, who signed a contract extension till 2023.

Fernando Alonso has had a decent start to the season, and has scored points in seven out of the ten races so far, which includes a P7 finish at the British GP last week. He also finished seventh in the first ever sprint race, which was held last week, after making up four places in the opening part of the race.

Fernando Alonso revealed that Max Verstappen was the reason why he saw Formula One last year, and stated that none of the drivers could have challenged Lewis Hamilton for the world championship title except the Dutchman.

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“Last year, when I wasn’t racing, when I put the TV on, I put it on a little bit to see what Max was doing in that race because he was the only one who was going to do something,” said Alonso during an interview with Soymotor.com.

“You knew [Valtteri] Bottas wasn’t going to upset [Lewis] Hamilton and you knew Hamilton would win if nothing weird happened. But…‘oh, Verstappen’. Whether he starts on the front row, whether the car is going well…the charisma factor or whatever I think is important as well,” he added.

I don’t envy the support for Max Verstappen: Fernando Alonso

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Max Verstappen has a huge fan-base, who are known as the Orange Army. The fans celebrated his victory in style at the Austrian GP, and Fernando Alonso stated that he does not envy the support which is received by Verstappen.

Alonso stated that he likes to enjoy the moment, and he also has a first-hand experience of enjoying the moment back in his peak years.

“I look at it with admiration and I enjoy the moment, to see all those people excited, in this case for Verstappen. But with the good fortune of also having experienced it first hand, and there was that blue tide for so many years for us – for Renault and me,” said Alonso.

“I don’t look at it with envy, I look at it with admiration for them and also knowing we were lucky enough to have a whole circuit [supporting us],” he added.

Also Read: Formula 1: Valtteri Bottas Ready to Play the Team Game and Give up on Driver’s Championship