Fernando Alonso cites 2021 example amid Max Verstappen F1 title claim

Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen has what it takes to win this year’s F1 world championship in a less competitive car.

Four-time world champion Verstappen has emerged as a surprise late title challenger after slashing the gap to the leading McLaren duo across the last three events.

Verstappen has capitalised on a Red Bull revival to claim impressive wins in Italy and Azerbaijan, before taking second place ahead of the McLaren drivers in Singapore.

The Dutchman is 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, and only 41 adrift of second-placed Lando Norris, with 174 points still up for grabs across the six remaining races.

Alonso says Verstappen has already proved he can win a world championship in inferior equipment, pointing to his maiden crown in 2021 as an example.

The two-time world champion added that Verstappen is one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.

"[It's] difficult to guess ... I would say the two McLarens have the advantage just because of the points advantage," Alonso said.

"I would say it is between the two of them. But Max is an incredible driver, and if there's anyone who can overcome the deficit of the car it's him. He is four-time world champion… he’s one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.

"I think he's able to extract the maximum from the car, and when the car is the dominant car he can win the championship and just break some records in the season. And when the car is not that good or not the fastest he can still provide a good lap in qualifying and a good race, a good fight. He is in a very good level, very high level.

“This year he’s obviously fighting against a superior car, which is the McLaren, but if it comes to the last race or whatever and they are tight on points, maybe in that moment he becomes the man to follow.

“As I said before I think the two McLarens have enough advantage in the car to fight between them but with Max that can happen, as we saw in 2021 when the car was a little bit you know less performing than the Mercedes, he still won the championship in Abu Dhabi.”

Is it better to be the hunter or the hunted?

Alonso has experienced both leading the world championship, and hunting down a rival, in the closing stages of a season.

“You approach the weekend taking care of every single detail,” he explained. “It’s not that you don’t do that at the beginning of the year, but you understand that it’s a long championship and you can afford some ups and downs.

“Now there is no room for mistakes anymore if you are chasing the leaders so there is a bit of pressure on that.

“In the same way, if you are leading the championship, even if you have a little bit of margin, you don’t want to lose that point advantage. So there is a different atmosphere for sure on the weekends, but it’s a lovely place to [be].”

Verstappen rather reluctantly gave himself a “50-50” chance of overhauling the McLaren pair when asked to rate his title hopes ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

"50-50, either I win it or I don’t,” Verstappen bluntly replied.

“It's not about believing in it, or not, it’s about being realistic. For most of the season it was definitely the case that we were not fighting for the championship.

“Lately we've had some good results, I know when the car is capable of being quick and at those races, I can be there. It’s as simple as that, I would say.”