This week marked the 20th anniversary since Fernando Alonso won the first of his two F1 world championships with Renault, and although the Spaniard hasn’t tasted F1 glory for well over 12 years since his victory at the 2013 Spanish GP, he’s still racing on and chasing his elusive third title.
Alonso’s “pretty insane” career, even outside of F1
Although he’s yet to go directly wheel-to-wheel with Alonso for top positions in F1 (apart from a short spell at the start of 2023), reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen had nothing but praise for the Aston Martin driver when asked about the legacy of the two-time champion, stating he “admires him a lot” for his racing outside of F1 as well:
“I mean, he’s still driving, right? It’s crazy,” he said. “I get on very well with Fernando [Alonso]. I admire him a lot, how he is as a person, a racer at his age, to still be that motivated to perform in Formula 1.
“But at the same time, also what he has done before, like going into endurance, even doing Dakar for example, it’s pretty insane.
“And it just shows that he’s also just passionate about racing, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Formula 1 car or not.”
“The car doesn’t let him” – Verstappen on why Alonso hasn’t won for 12 years
Reflecting on Alonso’s lack of success in F1 recently, Verstappen acknowledged that sometimes F1 doesn’t give fair opprtunities to the most talented drivers – but emphasized that doesn’t take away from Alonso’s skill and “real talent“:
“That he hasn’t won in a while in Formula 1, I mean, that’s also what can happen,” he said. “There are also a lot of drivers that have never won in Formula 1, that maybe could have won or should have won. So that’s part of Formula 1 unfortunately. You don’t always get the right opportunities.
“Of course, he had some good years where he won the championship and you could see his real talent.
“But it doesn’t mean now that the pace is gone or he’s not quick anymore, it’s just the car doesn’t let him. But again, it’s still very nice that he’s around and I have a lot of respect for what he’s doing.”
Hamilton’s blunt assessment of Alonso’s “legacy”
Another rival of his and a former team-mate at McLaren, Lewis Hamilton was more reserved in his assessment of Alonso’s F1 career. When asked if the stats and the huge winless streak unfairly reflect on the Spaniard’s legacy, saying it’s “not for him” to say what that legacy will be:
“That’s really not something I’ll comment on as Fernando’s results and career speak for itself,” Hamilton said. “There’s not really much for me to add. I don’t know what his legacy will be.
“So it’s not for me to say what his legacy is.”
