Max Verstappen raves about 22-pole F1 rival who makes you ‘turn on the TV’

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Max Verstappen is continuing his march up the all-time Formula 1 leaderboards. His victory in Canada last weekend was the 60th of his career.

Only Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91) have stood on the top step of the podium more than the Dutchman. He overtook Sebastian Vettel (53) for a sole share of third at last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen is seemingly headed for his fourth world championship, having opened up a 56-point lead post-Montreal thanks to Charles Leclerc’s retirement. That would put him joint-fourth all-time behind Hamilton, Schumacher (both seven) and Juan Manuel Fangio (five).

As for pole positions, Verstappen is sitting on a relatively low 39, but that’s still enough for fifth overall. And his next podium could see him match Fernando Alonso and Alain Prost on 106 (fourth).

One category where he still has a long way to go is race starts. He’s fittingly set to make his 200th on home soil at the Dutch Grand Prix in late August.

But all-time leader Alonso will double that tally before the 2024 season is out. He signed a new multi-year contract with Aston Martin back in April, which means he’ll be extending that record too.

Max Verstappen recalls his days as a Fernando Alonso fan

When Alonso won the first of his two world championships in 2005, Verstappen was just eight years old. Speaking to DAZN in Canada, he revealed that he used to cheer the Spaniard on growing up.

He says that Alonso’s driving style made him thrilling to watch and believes he’s retained his ‘passion’ even 23 years on from his Formula 1 debut. He also ‘appreciates’ that the 42-year-old seems genuinely happy for his competitors when they succeed.

The two drivers have rarely gone toe-to-toe in their respective careers. Alonso was Red Bull’s nearest challenger in the early part of 2023 as Aston Martin flew out of the blocks, but they’ve slipped back into the upper midfield since.

“I remember following him when I was training in karting,” Verstappen said of the former Ferrari star. “He was a driver that you said ‘he can drive’. As a fan, because I was a fan then, he made you turn on the television.

“It’s interesting because let’s say that the age difference is big for Formula 1. But I think Fernando always shows himself as he is, it’s something that I admire a lot.

“Despite the success he has had, he is passionate about racing and a normal, nice guy. I really appreciate that he is happy when another driver does well.”

Verstappen names Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in all-time F1 top-five

In the same interview, Verstappen was asked to pick out the driver most likely to win a world championship in the future. He went for current second-place man Leclerc, but also gave a mention to Lando Norris.

Verstappen also named the five best drivers in F1 history, in his opinion. Unsurprisingly, given his effusive praise, Alonso featured in the list.

Hamilton did too despite the bitter rivalry between the two drivers in the 2021 season, when they battled for the title all the way down to the final race. Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio completed the list.

That meant that Verstappen left out Vettel and Prost, the two drivers he might be about to match for total championships. But he knew his choices would spark some disagreement.

Red Bull could have tried to pair the 26-year-old with Alonso for the 2025 season given that they had a potential vacancy in their second seat. The Aston Martin driver pushed ‘very hard’ for an offer, but in the end they opted to renew Sergio Perez instead.