Alonso praises 'magical' Verstappen at Suzuka: 'Only he can do that'

When a great champion salutes the performance of another great champion, one can only listen and appreciate. This Saturday, by unhooking a completely unexpected pole position by only twelve thousandths in front of McLaren, Max Verstappen has aroused the admiration and respect of his colleagues, including Fernando AlonsoThe double world champion, who has a very friendly relationship with the Dutchman, did not fail to congratulate the driver. Red Bull whose feat he describes as "magical", almost making him forget his own elimination in Q2 aboard theAston Martin.

"He's the only one who can do that. I don't think there's any other driver right now who can drive a car and put it as high, or higher than the car deserves, assures Fernando Alonso to Viaplay. I think it was a magical moment for everyone here." Fernando Alonso may have been having a flashback to qualifying for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, where he thought he'd secured pole position before Max Verstappen snatched the fastest time after a memorable final sector. There's no doubt that this pole position secured this Saturday at Suzuka joins the 2023 Monaco pole position as one of the four-time world champion's greatest ever.

Alonso helpless with his Aston Martin

For his part, Fernando Alonso was a long way off Max Verstappen's pole position. The Spaniard failed to qualify for Q3, eliminated in Q2 with an Aston Martin that still wasn't making any progress. After setting the 13th fastest time, the Bull of Asturias will ultimately start 12th thanks to the three-place penalty imposed on his compatriot. Carlos Sainz.  "I think we gave it our all on track today. Unfortunately, we may not have the pace to be in Q3 yet: 14th in Q1 and then 13th in Q2, maybe that's where we deserve to be today.", concedes the double world champion.

At Suzuka, on a track he particularly enjoys, Fernando Alonso will attempt to accomplish something unprecedented for him in 2025: finish the Grand Prix. The Spaniard has two consecutive retirements in as many races (an accident in Australia, a brake problem in China). Despite uncertain weather conditions, with rain forecast for Sunday before the Grand Prix (and possibly during), the Iberian wants to stay on the offensive, even if it means taking risks. "In Australia, I attacked, I was fast, but I didn't finish the race. That could happen tomorrow in the rain, recognizes the AsturianYou can be conservative and see what happens at the end of the race or you can attack and try to be fast with the risk of another retirement. We will try to implement our best strategy [on Sunday].

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