"He could be your father": When Sebastian Vettel joked with Max Verstappen about Fernando Alonso's age

Sebastian Vettel once took a dig at Fernando Alonso's age while discussing his potential return in F1 with Max Verstappen during the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel said that Alonso could be the Dutchman's father, and the comment left the whole room in splits.

Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, has been the oldest driver on the grid for the last decade. He raced for McLaren from 2015 to 2019 before taking a sabbatical in 2020.

The Spaniard was 38 years old in 2019 and during that year's Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Vettel attended the press conference where they were asked to predict the future of Alonso and his potential return.

Meanwhile, Verstappen, who was a teenager in 2019, stated that he felt gutted to have never gotten an opportunity to fight with Alonso.

"I think it was a bit of a shame that I never had an opportunity to fight against him in F1," the Dutchman said.

To this, Lewis Hamilton said that Alonso could be a good teammate to Verstappen. However, Sebastian Vettel added a humorous touch to the conversation and said

"He could be your father." (at 0:30).

The entire room burst into laughter as they went on to discuss Alonso's age and figure out if he could have a son of the same age as Verstappen.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso did return to F1 in 2021 with Alpine. After two years, he switched to Aston Martin and extended his contract in 2024. At 43, Alonso is still racing in F1 as the oldest driver on the grid and will continue to race for the Astons until the 2026 season.

On the other hand, Vettel raced for Scuderia Ferrari till 2020 before switching to Aston Martin for two years and retiring from the sport in 2022.

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Sebastian Vettel could return in F1 despite retirement, according to reports

Sebastian Vettel (Image Source: Getty)

Sebastian Vettel, who retired from F1 in 2022, is reportedly contemplating a return to F1. According to F1-Insider, Vettel considers himself fit enough to race in F1 and is reportedly open to considering offers from a top team.

Last year, he was linked to Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton confirmed his departure to Ferrari. However, Toto Wolff, the team principal, said that Vettel hasn't shown any interest in returning to the sport.

Meanwhile, for the upcoming season, the grid has undergone a significant change as Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine, Ferrari, and many big teams have embraced big gambles.

Though Sebastian Vettel was also linked to Red Bull as a potential replacement for underperforming Sergio Perez, Helmut Marko subtly dismissed the rumors. He opined that the grid now has many young drivers and Vettel has been out of touch with F1 for a long while.