Fernando Alonso stands tall as the most experienced driver on the grid and is set to make his debut with Aston Martin in 2023. Aside from his experience with several teams on the grid, the driver is a two-time world champion who ended Michael Schumacher’s winning streak in 2005.

The situation then could easily be compared to that of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, since Max disrupted Lewis’ streak of four championships with his win at Abu Dhabi in 2021. The rivalry between Max and Hamilton was at its peak the same season he won the trophy. And naturally, the rest of the drivers had their favorites among the two.

Formula One F1 – Canadian Grand Prix – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada – June 18, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen shakes hands with second placed Alpine’s Fernando Alonso after finishing in pole position Pool via REUTERS/Jim Watson

In a video shared by the Red Flags podcast on Instagram, ESPN’s Nate Saunders recalls an incident from Zandvoort that revealed Alonso’s pick between the two. Saunders said, “While I was walking from the motorhome back to the media center. So you kind of go through it’s weird at Zandvoort. You have to walk quite a little way to get there. And they were playing Max, Max, super Max over the tannoy. 

“And Fernando Alonso came past me on a scooter and he was going, Max, Max, Max, super Max. He had his eyes closed, kind of on his scooter as he came down. And he stopped and saw me. And I was looking at him laughing. And he just, like, nodded and gave a little wink. So I was like, if you got any doubt about which side of the Max Lewis argument Fernando’s on, that was it right there.”

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It is clear that Alonso’s favorite is Max, probably because the two are very similar in terms of their career so far in F1. Moreover, Alonso never shies away from expressing his thoughts and openly favored Max during the 2021 season as well.

Fernando Alonso’s support for Max Verstappen

There have been numerous incidents where the Spaniard has vouched for Verstappen. One such incident had Alonso saying nothing but saying everything. It was Max Verstappen’s almost-greatest lap in Saudi Arabia in 2021, where the Dutchman crashed on the final turn and had to forfeit his lap.

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Another time, praising Max’s driving, Alonso said, “You cannot teach that. I think it has to come from yourself. There are drivers that they need more time, they need to study more data, they need all the Friday to analyze and compare with a teammate and slowly make little steps until they are 100% ready for qualifying.”

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While Fernando himself picks Max over Lewis, respect and preference seem to go the other way as well. Previously, when asked about the greatest driver, Max credited Alonso with the title ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. So certainly, both the drivers are much more similar than they’d think so.