Fernando Alonso pays tribute to Max Verstappen, terms him a 'driving genius'

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has paid his tribute to Max Verstappen, terming him a "driving genius" and claiming that it would be hard to rule him out of the title battle in 2025. The Dutch driver is 25 points behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the championship.

On paper, it might appear that the season has been very close until now, with the Dutch driver continuing to be a factor at the front of the grid. The situation, however, has not necessarily been that. McLaren has been the undisputed best car in F1 in the first eight races of the season.

What has worked for Max Verstappen is the ability to nab points from both McLaren drivers in different races. Additionally, he has been able to win the race in Japan and Imola and has secured quite a few pole positions this season.

Despite all of this, the Woking-based team has had the better package overall, and Max Verstappen continues to be an outside contender for now unless Red Bull makes significant gains. Fernando Alonso, however, was not willing to rule out the Dutch driver from the championship fight.

Talking to Mundo Deportivo, Alonso termed Verstappen a racing genius as he said:

“No, you don’t rule him out because he’s another driving genius, and since we’re talking about Adrian Newey, who could do special things, I think Verstappen can do them too. He’s been doing it this year too, and you can never rule him out for the title."

He added:

"But yes, this year is surely the toughest of all the championships he’s entered, and McLaren is probably the biggest favorite.”

Max Verstappen speaks on his title chances

Celebrities At F1 Grand Prix Of Monaco - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen has spoken candidly about his title chances. The driver was questioned about the same after the race in Monaco, and he replied that he tries to focus on each race rather than the championship.

Talking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the driver said:

"Well, honestly, I don't really think about the championship. I just want to go race by race. Of course, some tracks, you might be a bit more competitive, and some you will struggle a bit more. And I think it was clear that, again, in Monaco, we struggled."

He added:

"But honestly, every year we have struggled here with this new generation of cars. Only in '23 we had a massive pace advantage, and then you still win the race. But all the other years for me, personally, have always been a big struggle."

Max Verstappen would be looking forward to the race in Barcelona this weekend with intrigue. The new technical directive comes into effect this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if it has any impact on the pecking order.