Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso said Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.
Verstappen has emerged as a late title contender alongside the McLaren drivers, standing 63 points behind leader Oscar Piastri with six races remaining.
The drivers’ championship is tense coming into this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix. Piastri leads his teammate Lando Norris by 22 points, and four-time world champion Verstappen is closing in after recent back-to-back victories in Monza and Baku.
At the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks ago, rival drivers were asked about the chance that Verstappen is a threat. George Russell joked, “100%!”, while Norris confirmed he is “genuinely a challenger.”
On Thursday, ahead of the race at Austin, drivers were asked in a news conference who they thought would win the title.
“[It’s] difficult to guess … I would say the two McLarens have the advantage just because of the points advantage,” Alonso said. “I would say it is between the two of them. But Max is an incredible driver, and if there’s anyone who can overcome the deficit of the car it’s him.
“He is four-time world champion … he’s one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.
“I think he’s able to extract the maximum from the car, and when the car is the dominant car he can win the championship and just break some records in the season. And when the car is not that good or not the fastest he can still provide a good lap in qualifying and a good race, a good fight.
“He is a very good level, and this year he is fighting against a superior car — which is a McLaren — and if it comes to the last race and they are tight on points, maybe in that moment he becomes the man to follow.”
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman added: “I don’t know. But I think it will be fun to watch. I think it’s cool what Max is doing at the moment, getting back some points. I hope it comes down to the wire for all three of them and may the best win.”
Verstappen, though, shrugged off his chances of winning a fifth world title this year. “It’s 50/50. Yeah, you either win it or you don’t. I don’t really think about it,” he said.
Alonso has previously been complementary towards the Dutchman, calling his qualifying lap at this year’s Japanese Grand Prix “magic”.
He added on Thursday: “I think the two McLarens have enough advantage in the car to fight between them [for the championship].
“But with Max, that can happen as we saw in 2021 when the car was a little bit less performing than the Mercedes, he still won the championship in Abu Dhabi.”
