Fernando Alonso believes that fellow countryman, Carlos Sainz has the potential to become an F1 world champion in the future.
Fernando Alonso holds the record for being the only F1 World Champion from Spain. He was also his country’s first and only driver to win a Grand Prix.
But that record was broken by Carlos Sainz at the 2022 British GP. Sainz claimed his first victory and has since remained ambitious about winning a few more.
Sainz is a huge admirer of Alonso and has been a fan of the Spaniard since childhood. Hence it was a dream come true when Sainz got the chance to drive for Alonso’s former team, the esteemed $1.4 Billion worth Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso congratulating Carlos Sainz after his first ever win in Formula 1 🤗
Carlos and Fernando are now the only Spanish drivers to win an F1 race 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/cRFFxJ24tJ
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 3, 2022
Sainz started his F1 career with Toro Rosso and later made a move to Renault. But he came to the spotlight for producing consistent results with McLaren which helped his team reach P3 in the Constructors standings in 2020.
Sainz turns 28 a day ahead of the 2022 Dutch GP. And as a birthday present, he received the good wishes of his compatriot Alonso who says he has a great future ahead in F1.
2-time World Champion Alonso was asked if he sees Carlos as a future World Champion. To which Alonso replied, “absolutely”. Alonso added, “He made great strides at McLaren and is now at Ferrari.”
He adds, “You need the right package. The best car in a year and a bit of luck. He has proven that he can be as fast as anyone else.”
Also Read: 32 GP winner Fernando Alonso caught wagging finger at Lewis Hamilton after major crash at Belgian GP
Fernando Alonso ends beef with Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso caused a major row between himself and Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP. Alonso called his former teammate an ‘idiot’ on his radio for colliding with him.
The collision ended Hamilton’s race and the Briton suffered 45G’s worth of force. Hamilton signed Alonso a cap after the former claimed Lewis cannot race if he is not in the front of the grid.
Alonso ended his beef with Hamilton after publically apologising to the Briton. The Spaniard also collected his cap autographed by Lewis.
These two… 🧢🤝😂#DutchGP pic.twitter.com/LKFbBM3QF5
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) September 1, 2022
Alonso called Lewis a legend of the sport and misspoke the phrase during the heat of the moment. He also added, “I have absolutely no problem with him, just a lot of respect.”
But Alonso said the media were biased and exaggerated the incident as HAmilton was British. He said, “When you say something about Latino drivers, it’s all a little more fun. But when you say something about other people, it’s always a little more serious.”