Max Verstappen rooting for ‘animal’ Fernando Alonso to beat him and win an F1 race this season

Max Verstappen revealed his support for fellow double world champion Fernando Alonso in the 2023 season of Formula 1, mentioning that he deserves a race win this year with the car he has been given at Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso has been close to winning a race in the first handful of races this season, maintaining constant performances. However, he hasn't quite been on the lead. The best he has finished this season is P2 (Monaco). He has also been on the podium four other times.

Max Verstappen, who has won five out of the seven races this year, revealed that he is rooting for Alonso to win a Grand Prix this year.

The Dutchman said:

"I want Fernando Alonso to win a race this year. He deserves it."

Max Verstappen (race winner) celebrating with Fernando Alonso (P2) in Monaco (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Fernando Alonso has been in the sport for well over two decades. However, in many instances, he was given a car that was either hard to drive or not competitive enough for a victory.

Famously, his second stint with McLaren (in the V6 era) was bad enough for him to hang up his helmet at the end of the 2018 season. However, he made a return with Alpine in 2021 and remained in the mid-field. His choice to move to Aston Martin this season has been quite amazing since he has moved right back to the top.

Max Verstappen acknowledged Alonso's driving skills, mentioning the fact that he had to drive noncompetitive cars for quite some time in Formula 1.

Verstappen stated:

"I like him, he's a real driver, he never gives up. He's spent many years where he had a car that he was only in the middle of, but he's an animal."

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Max Verstappen wouldn't care for an unbeaten Formula 1 season

Max Verstappen speeding through during the Spanish Grand Prix (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

One of the hardest challenges for any driver or team on the grid would be to achieve a 100% win rate during a season of Formula 1.

The only one who came close to doing this was Michael Schumacher, back in 2002, when he had a 100% podium rate. Note that, even during his dominant season, neither he nor Ferrari managed to win every single race.

As far as Max Verstappen's season has gone, it seems almost impossible for any team to come close to Red Bull's RB19 in terms of pace and competition. This might as well turn out to be a year for them to remain unbeaten. However, Verstappen has other priorities.

As he mentioned, he wants Fernando Alonso to win at least one race this season. Also, his first priority is to win the world championship, and if that is coming his way, he doesn't care for a 100% race win.

When asked, he mentioned:

"No. Last year was already quite crazy with 15 wins. As long as I win the championship that's the most important thing."