“I don’t look at it with envy” – Fernando Alonso spent his time off from Formula 1 watching Max Verstappen take on the might of Lewis Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso took a sabbatical from F1 for two seasons, before joining Alpine this season. The two-time world champion tried out different categories of racing while he was away, apart from enjoying watching Max Verstappen challenge reigning champion Lewis Hamilton last season.
“Last year, when I wasn’t racing, when I put the TV on, I put it on a little bit to see what Max was doing in that race because he was the only one who was going to do something.
“You knew [Valtteri] Bottas wasn’t going to upset [Lewis] Hamilton and you knew Hamilton would win if nothing weird happened. But…‘oh, Verstappen’. Whether he starts on the front row, whether the car is going well…the charisma factor or whatever I think is important as well.”
Max Verstappen and his Orange Army
The Dutchman has a huge dedicated fanbase now which accompanies him to races in large numbers, cheering him on. Alonso also enjoyed similar support during his Renault days and is delighted to see Verstappen experiencing the same.
“I look at it with admiration and I enjoy the moment, to see all those people excited, in this case for Verstappen. But with the good fortune of also having experienced it first hand, and there was that blue tide for so many years for us – for Renault and me.
“I don’t look at it with envy, I look at it with admiration for them and also knowing we were lucky enough to have a whole circuit [supporting us].”
