Fernando Alonso draws parallel to 2010 title loss with ‘not guaranteed’ warning

Fernando Alonso has drawn a parallel to his 2010 F1 title loss, warning that leading the championship heading into the final race doesn’t guarantee the title.

For the first time since 2010, multiple drivers remain in contention for the F1 world championship. 

Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, or Oscar Piastri could take the 2025 crown.

Norris currently holds a 12-point lead over Verstappen, with a podium finish enough to secure the title.

Fifteen years ago, Alonso led the standings heading to the Yas Marina Circuit, holding an eight-point advantage over Mark Webber. 

Sebastian Vettel was 15 points behind Alonso, while McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was the outsider, 24 points off the lead.

Vettel ultimately won the title after claiming victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, following a strategy blunder by Ferrari. 

The team had decided to pit early to cover Webber’s stop, failing to account for three drivers, including Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, who Alonso was unable to overtake.

Reflecting on his own experience, Alonso warned that F1 is “unpredictable.”

“The last time that it was three drivers it was back in 2010,” he told reporters. “The prediction is difficult. You always think that the leading guy has an advantage because he has some margin in terms of results and you can take it a little bit easier, but F1 is unpredictable.

“There was a safety car and back in 2010 that it was the wrong choice to not take it. 

“It was a safety car last week, it was a wrong choice as well not to take it. But these things can happen in an F1 race so it’s not guaranteed even if you are leading the championship.”

Alonso reacts to Verstappen’s McLaren claim

Verstappen claimed in an interview with F1 TV that if he had been driving for McLaren, the title would have been “over a long time ago.”

Giving his opinion on Verstappen’s claim, Alonso said: “You never know. It’s always a guess, difficult to answer. 

“I think we all know that Max is an incredible driver and extracting the maximum from the car and some of the races he has won this year maybe it was not really up to the car, it was up to him and also last year.

“We all will say that we can win the championship with the best car. We all have that self-confidence. But this is a question that you cannot answer.”