Max Verstappen has finally broken his silence on the rumors of Fernando Alonso potentially joining him at Red Bull next season as his teammate, per F1Maximaal.nl. In the aftermath of the 2023 Mexico City GP, fans and the media began speculating about a shock driver market move seeing the Spaniard team up with the utterly dominant Verstappen.
When asked about his take on the rumors, Verstappen was quick to showcase his annoyance. He told Motorsport-Total.com (as quoted by F1Maximaal.nl), “‘I always find it a bit strange when people start saying such things. Of course, it is annoying sometimes. Even if you are right, what good is it to report it?”
Max Verstappen sobre Fernando Alonso:
“Ele é a minha maior inspiração”#F1 #Formula1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/2zPfhPMRlX
— F1 em Português (@F1emportugues) October 30, 2023
The rumors all started after Sergio Perez‘s lap 1 DNF at his home race last Sunday. F1 Journalist Albert Fabrega put out a cryptic tweet. The result was a highly sensational speculation that Alonso could ditch Aston Martin after just one season for an epic partnership with Verstappen in 2024.
While these rumors may not be true, there is some sort of an ongoing battle between Perez and Daniel Ricciardo to put themselves in contention for the second Red Bull seat. When Max Verstappen was quizzed about the same, he opted to sit on the fence. However, Alonso did not take the rumors too kindly.
All hell breaks loose after Fernando Alonso is linked with Red Bull
Fernando Alonso vehemently denied all the speculations that linked him with a potential move to Red Bull and warned of “consequences“. The Race quoted the Spaniard as declaring, “I will make sure that there are consequences.”
The Spaniard then explained how he is happy at Aston Martin and is not planning to move elsewhere. However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko thinks otherwise.
Marko said (as quoted by F1-insider.com), “As for the rumors about Alonso: I can well imagine that Alonso spread them himself because his results with Aston Martin have been very disappointing recently after the brilliant start to the season. It wouldn’t be the first time that he used his home media to create a mood”.
Despite all the rumors, one thing is for sure: Sergio Perez’s Red Bull career is in a limbo. Perez’s future continues to remain in doubt despite Christian Horner ensuring that Red Bull’s “intention” (according to reports on X) is to keep the Mexican for the 2024 season.
