Despite Historic F1 Battles, Max Verstappen Snubs Lewis Hamilton for His Greatest Foe as the “Best Pilots in History”

What do Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso have in common? They are both 2-time world champions and they both rivaled Lewis Hamilton in their own eras. While Max has faced immense competition in recent years from the Briton, his admiration for Alonso is unparalleled.

Fernando Alonso arrived at McLaren in 2007 on the back of consecutive championship titles with Renault. Lewis Hamilton, a rookie back then, joined Alonso at the Woking-based team. They both developed a fierce rivalry right from the get-go. Resultantly, they both finished on the same number of points, losing out on the championship by just one point to Kimi Raikkonen.

Max Verstappen reveals his reverence for Fernando Alonso

While Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have never raced as teammates, their rivalry is among the fiercest in the modern F1 era. The competition famously heated last year when the championship battle went right down to the wire. Verstappen and Hamilton both raced for the title until the final lap of the last race of the season which the former won under controversial circumstances.

Despite sharing many podiums with Lewis, Max feels he is closer to Fernando. In Viaplay’s documentary Picture Perfect, The Dutchman revealed, “he (Fernando Alonso) still knows how to accelerate. We are from different generations, in fact he piloted against my father (Jos). Sometimes you even laugh about it. Even at his age, he is a real fan and that’s why he’s in all this. He is one of the best pilots in history.” [Translated using Google]

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Fernando too holds a lot of admiration for Max and rates his titles higher than Hamilton’s. He believed Hamilton in Mercedes’ dominant days only raced against his teammate while Max did not have to race against his.

Fernando Alonso wants to team up with Max Verstappen

Apart from being a 2-time Formula 1 champion, Fernando Alonso is also a 2-time Le Mans winner. He recently expressed his desire to team up with Max Verstappen in the 24-hour race.

In his interview with De Telegraaf, Alonso told, “I know Max wants to do some endurance one day and I know he’d like to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans.” 

“I’m certainly open to doing that together. I think we should give the idea a chance if we can drive for a competitive team.”

When asked if he would like Max’s father Jos as their third driver, he thought Jos was more suited for the role of their team principal.

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It would certainly be interesting for fans to watch the duo race together in the 24-hour race. Do you think the two should partner up for the event?