Fernando Alonso has praised Max Verstappen (Image: Getty Images)
Max Verstappen is on the cusp of clinching his third Formula 1 world championship, as the Dutch driver only requires three points in the Qatar sprint race to secure the title.
Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen will be compared to Michael Schumacher as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.
Verstappen needs to score just three points in the sprint race ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix to seal a third consecutive F1 world title and Alonso has ranked the Dutchman as the best F1 driver since Schumacher, with Lewis Hamilton notably omitted.
Lewis Hamilton and Schumacher have both won a record seven world titles, while the Brit’s 103 race wins are the most in the sport’s history. When asked about Verstappen’s achievements, Alonso said: “I’ve only been wheel-to-wheel with Michael, but (Max is) with Michael maybe, yes.
“We have to wait and see. The next few years will be even better for Max. He’ll keep adding championships, so we will compare him to Michael even closer in the future.”
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, also praised Verstappen for the “amazing job” he has done at Red Bull but would not be drawn on where he ranks the 26-year-old among the greats. “I wouldn’t rank him,” Hamilton said.
“Ranking people is an opinion-based thing. He has earned his position and he has done an amazing job with the package he has had. He and the team have been faultless this year.
“They have raised the bar and as we have to look at that and the areas where we can be better. I do hope we can compete with them, but they should enjoy the moment because they have worked for it.”
Verstappen is set to become just the eleventh driver in F1 history to win three world titles and he has reflected on his first win in 2021. That also came in Qatar and this year’s race is the first time F1 has been there since.
“At the time I was also fighting for my first title, so the emotions are very different,” he said. “Now that you have won two already and you are going for your third, it’s very different emotions.
“But also the position we are in as a team is very different, the car is much better than what it was back then, so the feelings are completely different. But I like both ways. I like that year, fighting to the end, but I also enjoy what I’m doing right now. I think it’s beautiful to have it in different ways.”
