Not Lewis Hamilton, nor Charles Leclerc – Only This F1 Driver Can Be Max Verstappen’s Kryptonite

Sabyasachi Biswas | 03/05/2023
Not Lewis Hamilton, nor Charles Leclerc – Only This F1 Driver Can Be Max Verstappen’s Kryptonite

Max Verstappen finally has a challenger in the F1 grid in 2023 and it is none other than Fernando Alonso. After demolishing the grid last season without any abled competitors such as Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, or even Sergio Perez, it is believed that Alonso could be the Kryptonite to Super Max this season.

With Leclerc and Hamilton out of the order so far, and Perez not being very consistent higher up, the only man who can be a threat to the two-time world champion is another two-time world champion, believes the British racing driver Billy Monger.

Monger in association with former F1 driver Johnny Herbert spoke about this in Lift The Lid podcast. He said that if there’s anybody who can outwit the defending champion, it can be the Asturian.

The Spanish driver has the capabilities, the race craft one needs to have to tackle someone like that Verstappen, Monger revealed. He also added that the 41-year-old is feisty on track, has mentorship, and finds the gap unexpectedly [as seen in Baku against Carlos Sainz.]

Herbert wants Aston Martin to help Fernando Alonso

Despite starting the season on a brilliant note, the Silverstone team has slowed down to catch up to Red Bull. Even though Alonso and his team showed a bit of spark to unsettle the defending champions, it was far from any dethroning move.

With the season going to its fifth round, Herbert urged the Silverstone-based team to step up and help the former Ferrari star. As the former British F1 driver wants Alonso to go wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen, he reckons that it won’t be possible without the help of his team.

Monger synced with Herbert as well on this. The duo urged the British team to deliver the veteran with a car that could fight with the mighty RB-19 on a Sunday and make the sport more interesting.

Where are Alonso and Aston Martin now as compared to Verstappen and Red Bull?

For the time being, the team from Silverstone is no match for the Milton-Keynes-based brigade. The Austrian team has developed a mighty RB-19s that’s not just fast but also comes with better traction, tire management, superior straight-line speed, and of course the mighty DRS.

In terms of points, the Bulls are also miles ahead with P1 in both categories. Red Bull currently occupies P1 in constructors championships with 180 points just after round four, which is 97 points more than Aston Martin.

When it comes to drivers’ standings, the Hasselt-born driver is at P1 with 93 points, followed by another Red Bull driver Perez with 87 points. Alonso is in a distant P3 with 60 points in his tally.

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Charles Leclerc Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Sergio Perez

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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