With their championship-winning prowess and immense experience, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are often dubbed the drivers best suited to challenge Max Verstappen. That is what Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had claimed a few months ago. However, former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan believes he has a better pair in mind to give the Dutchman a run for his money.
Talking about Hamilton and Alonso’s prospects in a recent interview with Auto Bild, the Irishman said as quoted by SoyMotor, “I simply no longer trust that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, although they are well-deserved champions, cannot keep up with Verstappen due to their age.”
Jordan instead proposed Charles Leclerc as the worthy challenger. He also believes Lando Norris would be the perfect wingman to the Monegasque. That would be the 75-year-old’s dream lineup if he were to float a championship-worthy team in present times. While both drivers are among the most sought-after talents on the grid, neither of them won a race in 2023.
Jordan’s assessment comes in stark contrast with Helmut Marko‘s. The Austrian advisor still believes Hamilton and Alonso are the only drivers from the current grid that can pose a serious challenge to Verstappen’s ongoing dominance. Marko passed the verdict while the season was still live in August last year.
Meanwhile, all opinions remain moot arguments until a non-Red Bull team delivers a car worthy of challenging the reigning champions. Currently, the Milton Keynes-based team is miles ahead while the rivals are only busy playing the catch-up game.
Can Sergio Perez hold his own against Max Verstappen in 2024?
The 2024 F1 season is a make-or-break year for Sergio Perez in his bid to retain his Red Bull seat. In 2023, the Mexican driver tasted early success only to endure a massive slump as the season progressed. Verstappen‘s epic onslaught did not do him any favors either as it only ended up making Perez look worse.
Despite that, team boss Christian Horner has decided to continue with the street circuit wizard. However, that guarantee will run out by the end of 2024 when the contract concludes. As far as 2025 is concerned, Horner revealed his intention to keep all options open, including Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback.
The Australian remains the only teammate who outperformed Verstappen for a full season. But is it really the driver philosophy that Red Bull is willing to walk on? To have two drivers aiming for the championship can be a recipe for disaster as on-track battles can often end up hurting the team. Red Bull, ever since Verstappen’s rise, has stayed clear of this sort of dynamic.
However, if a team emerges as a championship challenger, the defending champions would like to have both their drivers score points in every single race. For that, they’ll need the support of two aggressive drivers. Perez will have to prove to be the driver who is capable of doing both – willing to surrender to his teammate’s supremacy, and finishing regularly in top-5 positions.
