Max Verstappen says he fully understands why Fernando Alonso has bet his F1 future on Aston Martin F1.
Fernando Alonso has sparked controversy by announcing at the beginning of the summer break that he would be leaving the Alpine F1 team to join Aston Martin F1 on a multi-year deal.
The Alpine F1 team is battling for ‘best of the rest’ in F1 behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, but the move comes as a surprise as Aston Martin is currently ninth after a difficult campaign. was.
Fernando Alonso admits there is no guarantee Aston Martin F1 will make the rapid progress he wants, but world champion Max Verstappen said Alonso’s motivation was sparked by the ‘exciting’ prospect of pushing the team forward. I think it was
“I’m so excited. Why not Fernando?”
“I think Aston Martin is still a team that wants to move forward. They’re hiring a lot of people, so it’s understandable for Fernando to go there and try to take it to another level. It’s exciting. That’s why I can understand it.”
The departure of Fernando Alonso, whom the Alpine F1 team had hoped would remain, sparked a chain of events that led to Daniel Ricciardo leaving McLaren at the end of the season.
Daniel Ricciardo’s former teammate Max Verstappen says Ricciardo’s continued struggles at McLaren mean it makes perfect sense for both sides to consider other options. thinking.
“I think he was in a situation where the car didn’t suit him,” Verstappen added.
“There was no real improvement that made him feel better in the car.”
“After that, I think we talked to each other, I think we’ve been talking a lot and we’ve come to the conclusion that it might be better for each other to assume different directions. It happens sometimes.”
Asked if he was surprised by the consistent gap between Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren, Verstappen said: “Of course I think Lando is a great driver.
“But we all know that if you’re not comfortable in the car and you can’t push it the way you want it to or want it to work, you’ll probably never be on the same level as the guy who feels more comfortable. I think you know
“I don’t know exactly what happened between the two drivers, but if it doesn’t work out we have to go somewhere else.”
Max Verstappen says he hopes Daniel Ricciardo will succeed in securing an F1 seat for 2023 now that he is no longer at McLaren.
“It’s great to have him in F1,” Verstappen said.
“He’s a great guy. First of all, I get along very well with him and, of course, I hope he finds his place.”
“Obviously it’s up to him now. I don’t know where he wants to go or where the space is.”
Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / Fernando Alonso / Daniel Ricardo