Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen are two of the most talented drivers not just on the current Formula 1 grid but in the history of the sport.
It’s incredible to think that Fernando Alonso won his first F1 title nearly 20 years ago with Renault alongside Giancarlo Fisichella.
In stark contrast, Max Verstappen in the midst of his dominance of F1 and is still the favourite to win another title in 2024 despite the convergence happening at the front of the grid.
Alonso was talking about his Dutch rival to AS ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver committed his future to Aston Martin for at least the next two seasons at the beginning of the campaign.
The British team are stuck in no man’s land at the moment, unable to challenge the leading four manufacturers, but with a healthy buffer over all the teams below them except for RB.
However, in 2026 there is hope that they’ll be one of the front runners in the sport, especially with a partnership with Honda to look forward to.
That could mean Alonso and Verstappen fighting against each other for world championships.
And while the 42-year-old has complete faith he can still mix it with the very best, he admits that Verstappen has a unique skill on the grid that could make this very difficult.
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Fernando Alonso in admiration of Max Verstappen due to one key attribute
Alonso has raced through more eras of Formula 1 than arguably any other driver in its history.
He made his debut back in 2001 with Minardi and while he hasn’t been ever-present his since first race in Australia, he’s seen dozens of drivers, circuits and rule changes come and go.
The Spaniard has also been on the end of some very unfortunate decisions when it comes to choosing which team he’s going to drive for.
Alonso has always been a driver in demand and his CV is incredibly impressive which makes the fact that he hasn’t won a title since 2006 all the more remarkable.
The 2026 regulations could see the order of merit change significantly in Formula 1 and Alonso wouldn’t have signed up to another two years with Aston Martin if he didn’t think he would be in the mix.
Mercedes are expected to have a very strong power unit and the new combination of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton can’t be ignored.
However, Alonso shares why Verstappen could end up being his closest rival even if Aston Martin have the fastest car.
He proved in Canada, that even when he doesn’t necessarily have the quickest car, he still finds a way to win.
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Max Verstappen’s unrelenting nature makes him one of F1’s greatest drivers
Alonso was asked if he had even the slightest doubt that he’d be able to extract the maximum from his Aston Martin in 2026 if it was capable of fighting for race wins and he simply said, “No.”
He was then pushed on this and asked if that was the case even looking at Max Verstappen’s level, to which he said: “[Max] Verstappen would certainly be a contender in those conditions. But I have a lot of confidence in myself.
“Verstappen has shown that he is perhaps the only one who in difficult conditions still performs at the best level, he would be a tremendously difficult driver to beat. But I have confidence in myself.”
Plenty of Formula 1 fans would love to see a shootout between Verstappen and Alonso in the future.
There was a point earlier in the year when the Spaniard was linked with becoming his teammate at Red Bull with Sergio Perez out of contract.
It’s unlikely that they’ll ever be paired together now, but some wheel-to-wheel racing between the two world champions wouldn’t go amiss.
The post ‘Tremendously difficult’: Fernando Alonso shares what Max Verstappen's unique talent is among his F1 rivals appeared first on F1 Oversteer.