Fernando Alonso believes himself and fellow double World Champion Max Verstappen are for some reason “seen” as being “aggressive, impolite and not politically correct” drivers, with the Spaniard having no idea why they are viewed in that way.
Alonso and Verstappen have both been speaking very highly of one another recently, with the reigning World Champion having admitted that Alonso “deserves” more wins in F1 than he currently has.
“I think Fernando should have already won a lot more races than he has done,” Verstappen said. “I think he deserves a lot more.”
Ahead of next weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Alonso has won 32 races in F1, with his first win having come at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix.
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The Aston Martin driver’s most recent win came at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, meaning the 41-year-old has gone almost a decade without finishing on the top step of the podium.
Verstappen on the other hand, has claimed 37 victories in F1 since claiming his first at the 2016 Spanish GP, with the likelihood being that the Dutchman will surpass 50 race wins this season.
Despite having won more races than the likes of Alonso and five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, Verstappen has still only claimed two titles.
Whilst a third is likely this season, Alonso believes Verstappen can claim many more world titles, should he have “a competitive car”.
“He could win five, six or seven titles,” Alonso told L’Equipe. “Max is very good, but obviously he too needs a competitive car.”
Alonso believes himself and Verstappen are similar in a lot of ways, with both coming from “small countries” in regard to F1 success.
Alonso is the most successful Spanish F1 driver whilst Verstappen is the most successful to have come out of the Netherlands, with F1 for many years having been dominated by British, German and Brazilian drivers.
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The Aston Martin driver also explained other ways how himself and the Red Bull star are similar, despite not understanding “why”, they are viewed in such a peculiar way.
“We both come from small countries with little F1 culture,” he said. “In my time, Spain became blue, and now we see orange everywhere.
“And also, I don’t know why, but we are both seen as drivers who are aggressive, impolite and not politically correct.”