It has been ten years since Fernando Alonso last stood at the F1 podium. The Spaniard has had a chance of doing so this year, but he could not achieve his 33rd victory due to Max Verstappen. As per F1 expert Peter Windsor, apart from their cars, there is one more aspect that Alonso cannot compare to Verstappen.
After a great start to the 2023 season with Aston Martin, Alonso claimed that Monaco and Spain are the two places where he might be able to win. However, in both of those instances, Alonso fell short of Verstappen, who took the win.
While it might be easy to put off Verstappen’s victories by claiming that it was the car and not the driver, Windsor believes that there are multiple factors at play behind Alonso’s failure to catch up to Verstappen. The most important one is the difference in their driving styles.
Max Verstappen’s cornering is much better than Fernando Alonso
In a YouTube video where Windsor analyzed the driving styles of the various F1 drivers, the British pundit compared how Verstappen positioned his car at La Rascasse, turn 17 of Monaco, as compared to Fernando Alonso. Windsor revealed that there was a huge difference in how they approached the corner, and that is what made the difference between winning the race and coming second.
Windsor explained that Verstappen takes the corner apex much earlier than other drivers. This allows him to get on the power faster and save some precious lap time there. And as for Alonso, the Aston Martin driver is still trying to rotate his car at the part of the corner where Verstappen has already turned in.
Windsor claimed, “Fernando’s brilliant in so many ways, but the one area where he doesn’t compare with Max, he’s not the same with Max, is short corners.” He further explained that Alonso is brilliant at taking the long corners, just like F1 legend Ayrton Senna, but fails to match up to Verstappen in tight corners.
Fernando Alonso’s shortcomings might trouble him in Hungary
Alonso claimed recently that the Aston Martin seemed to be particularly good at taking the slow corners, and therefore he feels hopeful for Hungary since there are quite a few slow and medium-speed corners around the circuit. However, Alonso’s preference for taking the apex late in these slow corners could return to bite him.
2003 Hungaroring: first GP victory for Fernando Alonso
2023 Hungaroring: High degradation, low speed corners, just 1 straight with drs?
Poster by @aalexinho_ pic.twitter.com/ONCdygtGZ0
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) July 17, 2023
As per Windsor, even Lance Stroll is better than Alonso when taking the slow corners perfectly. Even though Stroll has not managed to match up to Alonso in any other aspects, slow corners seem to be a particular weakness for Alonso.
Alonso could realistically eye for a podium in Hungary. But Verstappen’s perfection means the Red Bull driver is all set to extend his winning streak at the Hungaroring.
