Watch: Fernando Alonso's savage reply to the reporter leaves Max Verstappen smiling during the post-race press conference in Canada

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso's reply to whether he could beat Sergio Perez in the 2023 championship for P2 amused Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton .

Owing to Perez's poor string of results since Miami GP last month, the two-time world champion has closed the gap in the battle for P2 in the championship. The Spaniard is one of the most consistent drivers on the grid this season, claiming six podiums in eight races.

With his P2 finish in Montreal, Fernando Alonso finds himself just nine points behind Sergio Perez despite not winning a race this season. During the post-race press conference, F1 journalist Tom Clarkson asked Alonso if he could beat the Mexican in the Driver's Standings, to which the Aston Martin driver simply replied:

"Yes."

Alonso's cheeky response left Perez's teammate Max Verstappen and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton grinning next to him.

Fernando Alonso expresses his delight with Aston Martin's progression in 2023

The two-time world champion stated that he was happy with the Aston Martin F1 team's progression and claimed that he was probably the happiest he's ever been with them.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Fernando Alonso said:

“Everything is good, to be honest. I cannot think of another time in my career that I was this confident with a team and with the project itself because it’s more a medium to long-term project. I don’t know if I will be driving [then]. I always have in my mind that yes because as long as I feel fast, and I still enjoy it, why would I stop? At the moment I’m enjoying it."

He added:

“There is more to come. I want to win a race this year. Today I thought maybe it was possible that Max had a mistake, a bad pit stop or something, but we were too far to force that error, but the car is going in the right direction. So more opportunities will come.”

Alonso also spoke about his poor start in Montreal, adding:

“I need to check, I don’t know if the guys starting on that side of the grid, they started good or not. Because I only sure Max and Lewis, obviously, but George didn’t overtake me, so maybe it was just the wrong side of the grid. Yeah, I cannot answer now.”

It will be interesting to see if Fernando Alonso can win a race with Aston Martin this season and whether he will end up finishing above Sergio perez in the Driver's Standings.