Max Verstappen doesn’t want his career to follow Fernando Alonso’s path: “I hope we can be ahead for a long time”

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen recently stated that he doesn't want his career to follow the trajectory of fellow two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Despite being one of the most naturally gifted drivers of all time, Alonso hasn't won as many races and championships as he would've liked. The Spaniard left Ferrari in 2014 and was with a below-par McLaren team until 2018. He has finally gotten himself back to the front of the grid with Aston Martin.

Speaking with AS, Verstappen said:

"Well, they are the victories that you deserve or the ones that touch you, sometimes this happens and unfortunately for Fernando, it has been like that for many years. He didn't have the car when he did have the capacity. That is the danger of Formula 1. I hope we can be in front for a long time. I know that Fernando thinks that here he has the opportunity to do it and, honestly, I would love to see Fernando win."

He added:

"He should have won a lot more races than he has and he should have won a lot more titles than he has. Fernando is very good. He is still showing it, he is 41 years old and it is crazy to see him still at this level. I have a lot of respect for Fernando. When I was younger and followed Formula 1, he no longer had the best car, in the Ferrari years, but still, he fought for the title only because of his driving level, or because of how he positioned himself in the first round."

“I think FP2 was already a lot better, the car was a lot more competitive" - Max Verstappen

While analyzing his Friday practice performance, Max Verstappen stated that the FP2 session was a lot better for him compared to FP1.

Speaking to F1.com, the Red Bull driver said:

“I think FP1 was quite tricky, I was not really happy with the ride of the car on the kerbs and the bumps. I think FP2 was already a lot better, the car was a lot more competitive. But compared to Ferrari especially, I think we’re still a bit lacking on the general ride of the car, how it handles the kerbs, the bumps, the drops in camber, so that’s still something we need to work on for tomorrow."

It will be interesting to see if Fernando Alonso and the rest of the field can challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull this weekend in Monaco.