30 August 2023 , 16:48
1008
0
Fernando Alonso feels people "sometimes underestimate" the magnitude of what Max Verstappen is achieving this season.
The Red Bull racer matched the Formula 1 record for most consecutive wins by taking victory at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend. He has won 11 of 13 races so far this season and could go on to add up to nine more before the end of the campaign.
Another swathe of F1 records would topple if he were to do that. Plus, for Red Bull, the chance remains to become the first F1 team ever to go unbeaten across an entire world championship season.
Some fans have complained about the lack of competition at the front, decrying the situation as "boring" and suggesting it is harmful to the sport. Others have argued that Verstappen's car is an overwhelmingly significant factor in his results and that other drivers would be able to match his results in the same machine.
Alonso is not so sure. The Aston Martin racer, who finished closest to Verstappen at Zandvoort on Sunday, feels the 25-year-old is not getting the credit he deserves from some quarters.
Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"
"It is underestimated sometimes what Max is achieving," said the Spaniard. "To win in such a dominant manner in any professional sport, it is so complicated. Obviously, drivers in general, we have a lot of self-confidence, so I do believe I can do good as well.
"But you need to enter in a mood, in a state, where you are connected with a car. Days like [the Dutch GP], I felt that I was at my best and gave 100 percent of what I felt, and my abilities, in a racing car, but maybe in Spa (Belgian GP) I was not at that level, or in Austria, or something like that.
"So you always feel there is room to improve, and you are not 100 per cent happy with yourself. I think Max is achieving that 100 percent more often than any of the drivers, so that's why he's dominating."
Only the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez, has beaten Verstappen so far this season. The Mexican has done that twice but hasn't managed it since the fourth race of the year, in Baku in April, a defeat from which the Dutchman said he learned a great deal.
"I didn't win that race in Baku, but I really tried a lot of stuff, different tools in the car. That's why throughout the race it was a little bit inconsistent," he said. "At one point, I got into a good rhythm with what I found, but then I damaged my tyres a bit too much.
"I was like, 'Okay, that's quite interesting for the next races', and I basically implemented that and it has helped me on every track."