Fernando Alonso appears to very much be Max Verstappen’s number one fan, as the Spaniard spoke in-depth about the Dutchman ahead of Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
The 41-year-old caused havoc in the paddock after stating that the Dutchman’s two World Championships are “worth more” than Lewis Hamilton’s seven, hinting that their rivalry dating back to 2007 still hasn’t fully died.
Interestingly, Alonso then hit out at journalists for “searching for headlines”, despite the Spaniard having been quoted saying what he did as per De Telegraaf.
Hamilton simply replied to the Alpine driver on social media by posting a photo from the 2007 United States Grand Prix, where the 37-year-old stood on the top step of the podium, seemingly consoling Alonso, who was second.
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It turns out that Alonso also said other interesting things regarding Verstappen, who has now claimed more victories than the 2005 and 2006 World Champion.
The duo appear to get on very well, with Alonso revealing that he’d like to compete with Verstappen in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as long as they have a “competitive team”.
“I know Max also wants to do endurance one day and would like to drive the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” the 2018 and 2019 Le Mans winner said, as per De Telegraaf.
“I am certainly open to doing that together. We should definitely give that a chance if we can drive for a competitive team.
“Maybe then Jos [Verstappen] can act as a team manager.”
Whether this ever comes to fruition remains to be seen; however, the idea of the two teaming up for a bid at Le Mans 24 Hours glory is mouth-watering to say the least.
Verstappen does actually have some endurance experience in the sim-world, where he won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2019; he’s also a regular competitor in the virtual Le Mans 24 Hours.
If he gets on as well in the real world as he usually does in the sim world, then Verstappen would stand a pretty good chance of victory, to no surprise!
The Dutchman actually claimed his 14th victory of the season at the incredibly woeful Mexican Grand Prix, where he eclipsed Sebastian Vettel’s and Michael Schumacher’s record for most wins in a single season.
Alonso, on the other hand, suffered yet another reliability-based failure, with his power unit once again being the problem at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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The Spaniard was having a strong race in seventh, before slipping towards the bottom of the points after appearing to suffer from a loss of power.
Towards the end of the race, it was revealed why he was losing time, as his power unit gave way at the end of the incredibly long start/finish straight.
Alonso pulled off the circuit at Turn One, where he was seen visibly frustrated, after punching the air.