Max Verstappen’s recent dominance has eclipsed the fact that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are still going wheel-to-wheel and have almost identical points in the championship. Removing Red Bull and its drivers Verstappen and Sergio Perez would see the two old arch-rivals fighting it all out for the ultimate prize, the world championship, as they are just separated by one solitary point.
Hamilton and Alonso’s rivalry dates back to 2007, when the British driver joined McLaren. It was the Briton’s debut season, and in his very first season, he was pitted against the then-two-time world champion Alonso.
A perfect weekend in Spa 🇧🇪 We’ve been on it from start to finish @redbullracing 💪 The car was great 🚀
Thank you Orange Army, your support has been unreal 🙌 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/05mFAL5FWG
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 30, 2023
Things between them certainly didn’t go well that year, and the rivalry could have been reignited only if the Red Bull drivers, especially Max Verstappen, weren’t there in 2023. This is because the confident Dutchman has absolutely been unstoppable, with 10 wins out of 12 races.
And on top of that, the Belgian GP win was his back-to-back eight victories. Interestingly, the Red Bull driver’s points are more than Alonso and Hamilton’s combined. Hence, it is understandable why Alonso versus Hamilton is not working out.
Fans want Max Verstappen to be removed to see the Clash of the Titans
Following the conclusion of the Belgian GP, Alonso and Hamilton came closer on points. And this was when fans reckoned that without Verstappen’s absence, the old McLaren duo could have reignited the battle left incomplete back in 2007.
Given below are some of the reactions taken from Twitter:
@madtauru knows whom to support if the battle existed.
it would have been so epic, and of course I would have cheered for lewis but even if alonso won it would have been pleasuring and iconic, I know lewis would say the same. https://t.co/8k5WWlwk0l
— nuel (@madtauru) July 30, 2023
@8titles knows what F1 is missing.
We are getting robbed of an absolute all timer man https://t.co/DiDgtD7O7H
— ➖ (@8titles) July 30, 2023
@tasmtali can’t help but mourn.
Mourning what we could’ve had https://t.co/RL3E5HZ35k
— tali (@tasmtali) July 30, 2023
However, removing the defending champion would not solve anything as the Asturian star faces a huge predicament of late. And certainly, he might not be as per the seven-time world champion to contest him for long.
Why is Fernando Alonso likely to fail against Lewis Hamilton?
The performance graph of Mercedes and Aston Martin have gone the opposite way. The Silver Arrows made significant progress as they took control of P2 in the Constructors’ championship with a restructured W14. Whereas the Silverstone-based team not only lost their P2 but is also vulnerable to Ferrari and McLaren from here on.
Mike Krack, the principal of the British team, opened up about the problems the Green team has been facing. He said that the team had confused the developmental path following the Canadian GP. But he also assured the fans that they would track back from there and bring upgrades to rectify the issue.
Admittedly, it was the Montreal race where Aston Martin lost their sync. On the other hand, the Brackley-based team began with their development. And now McLaren has joined Ferrari in the battle for P2. The fight for drivers’ and constructors’ championships would have been very exciting only if Red Bull didn’t exist.
