Fernando Alonso with another potential dig at old employers Alpine - "They were happy with fourth"

Fernando Alonso has taken another sly dig at his former teams Alpine and McLaren, claiming the teams were happy with fourth place. The two-time world champion claims his new team, Aston Martin, is hungrier than his former employers, claiming the British team won't settle for less.

Alonso replaced the outgoing Sebastian Vettel at the Silverstone-based team this year and will star alongside Lance Stroll in 2023. The Spaniard gave fans some thrilling performances in 2022 but failed to score a lot of points due to reliability issues. While not specifying which of his former employers he is unhappy with, the two-time world champion lauded Aston Martin's hunger to always improve.

Speaking ahead of the team's 2023 car launch, Fernando Alonso said:

“This is very different compared to other teams that I joined in the last few occasions. Maybe they had success in the past and they were just in a comfortable position. They were just fourth and they were happy with fourth."

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Fernando Alonso claims Max Verstappen will only get better with time

Fernando Alonso claims Max Verstappen will only get better with Red Bull in the coming years. The Dutchman won two consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022, making him arguably the best driver on the grid currently.

Verstappen joined Alonso in becoming a two-time world champion at the 2022 Japanese GP, wrapping up the season with four races remaining. Alonso acknowledged the reigning world champion's driving prowess, claiming the Dutchman is already one of the all-time greats of the sport. He wished Max Verstappen good luck for the rest of his career, saying:

“He’s 24 or 25, no? So there’s still a lot in front of him, but I wish him more luck than me because I was also 26 with those stats and still have the same stats at 40. But I’m sure with Red Bull and how things look for the future, he will only get better."

Given Red Bull's reprimands for the new season, it will be interesting to see if Max Verstappen remains at the top in the coming times.