Fernando Alonso compares Max Verstappen's performance to his own at Ferrari

We have to go back to 2013, twelve years ago, to find the trace of the last success of Fernando Alonso en Formula 1The Spaniard was then a young man in his thirties, in the prime of life, wearing the red of the team that all drivers dream of representing. Arriving at the end of 2009 from Renault, Alonso plays for the title in his first season, but fails against Sebastian Vettel, crowned by just four points in the last round in Abu Dhabi.

Two years later, the "Bull of Asturias" thought he could win his third title this time, but he failed again in the last round, in Brazil, by three points less than Vettel. The common point of these two seasons is that each time, the one who now wears the colors ofAston Martin didn't have the best car. In 2010, Ferrari finished 3rd in the Constructors' Championship, and his teammate Felipe Massa was more than 100 points behind. Two years later, the bill was even steeper for the Brazilian, crushed like ice cubes in a caipirinha by his garage neighbor, who left him with 150 points in his sight.

Similar paths for Verstappen and Alonso 

This period, one of the best of his career, comes to mind for Fernando Alonso when he talks about the current situation Max VerstappenThe man with 32 F1 victories finds similarities between his younger brother, who has twice as many victories (64 wins), and his time at Ferrari. The Dutchman, too, had to battle with a car inferior to achieve titles and victories.

“It reminds me a bit of my time at Ferrari in 2010 and 2012, when I was fighting for the championship until the last race with the third or fourth best car, recalls Alonso, present alongside Max Verstappen at the press conference. Sometimes I wasn't even in Q3, but I was winning races and stuff like that."

“So yes, these are exceptional circumstances, this is not normal. So yes, I think I received credit for those seasons, for my performances. He receives credit now because no one doubts that he is at the top of his game. But it’s tough. It’s really tough. You can’t afford any mistakes. You can’t miss a qualifying round. You can’t make a mistake by lapped in traffic. You can’t hinder another driver. You can’t miss anything, otherwise everything falls apart. So yes, it’s a dream, but it’s also a real challenge.”

Fernando Alonso also managed to work wonders with his Aston Martin in 2023, scoring six podiums in a row at the start of the season. Since then, however, it has become much more complicated to perform with the British single-seater, which is expected to regain its performance in 2026 under the direction of magician Adrian Newey, who arrived from Red Bull.

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