Fernando Alonso‘s signing with Aston Martin till 2026 is the biggest news around the paddocks. The 42-year-old driver has not had enough of the sport and is hungry for more and Aston Martin is the way for him. After his recent signing, it’s clear that he likes the direction the team is heading and would like to win a third world championship title home. But will he be able to beat Max Verstappen?

Currently, there are 3 world champions on the grid and with Sebastian Vettel just recently leaving the sport, there has always been competition for Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton has rolled off this year, but that’s only until he gets into a Ferrari and drives a more comfortable car. However, Vettel is rumored to return to the sport, and if that happens, he might threaten Alonso’s position in the pecking order. In the recent episode of The Race F1 Podcast, F1 pundits break down Alonso’s competition with Sebastian Vettel.

Fernando Alonso is a greater driver than Sebastian Vettel according to F1 Pundit

When it came to discussing Fernando Alonso’s contract renewal, the topic of 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel came up and that’s when Ben Anderson had something to say. Anderson stated, “[Alonso] He has a reputation, unfairly or not, for being disruptive in a team.” Explaining how demanding it is to work with Alonso, he stated how the team revolves around the Spaniard to make each unit work right. 

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Anderson further explained the 2-time champion’s approach saying, “For me, maybe being a bit too Alonso-centric in his approach, that’s maybe mellowed as he’s gotten older, but you know, certainly, Lewis and Sebastian Vettel have achieved more in pure numbers and, in Vettlel’s case, I’d say probably a lesser driver than Alonso overall.”

The explanation for comparison was given stating, “They had certain other elements to their game, in terms of how they worked with teams, that made them the kind of driver that those teams wanted to build around and gel with.”

Finally explaining the driver’s dynamics with their teams, the pundit concluded, “Also, some of it’s circumstantial, you know, Vettel got into Red Bull, they were coming up, and then they dominated for a few seasons, he made the most of that. Alonso left a very high-performing team in acrimonious circumstances in McLaren and kinda never really recovered from that, went to Ferrari.”

Fernando Alonso has always been outside his comfort zone when it came to teams with performing cars. Vettel, on the other hand, took advantage of Red Bull’s dominance to gather more titles than the Spaniard. The fact that Alonso has confirmed his seat in Aston Martin might mean a stellar return for Sebastian Vettel to F1.

How does Fernando Alonso’s seat benefit Sebastian Vettel?

With Alonso confirming his Aston Martin seat, this leaves the prestigious Red Bull and Mercedes seats open for 2025. Sebastian Vettel had mentioned his desire to return to F1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. This gives Sebastian Vettel a chance to get back on the grid with a team that has been pushing for championships. Mercedes is currently in a slump, but by next year, the team should have their car figured out, especially since they are going to be supplying power units post the 2026 regulations change.

Christian Horner, on the other hand, might be happy to bring back Vettel into an RB and give him yet another shot at the World Championship title. But this contradicts the team’s current strategy of having Max Verstappen as their star driver and the other RB20 not challenging him. Either way, it would be great to see Vettel back on the grid with either of the teams.

Which team do you think Vettel will return with if he does? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.