Verstappen F1 championship lead over Hamilton "means nothing" - Alonso
Verstappen F1 championship lead over Hamilton "means nothing" - Alonso
Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen taking the lead in the F1 drivers' title race from Lewis Hamilton "means nothing" at this stage of the season.
For the first time in his F1 career, Verstappen leads the championship following his recent victory in Monaco where Hamilton struggled to seventh after a poor weekend for Mercedes to fall four points adrift of his Red Bull rival.
Ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, however, Alonso has claimed there will be no change in the mindset of either driver due to the relative infancy of the championship after only five races and with another 18 remaining.
On the effect of Verstappen taking the lead, Alonso said: "Right now, in the sixth race, it means nothing.
"It will not change anything for Lewis or for Max. I am guessing if it is the last race it will change a little bit, it is better to be in front but in the sixth race, you are not thinking yet in the points."
Alonso warns Verstappen of Mercedes threat
Parallels can be drawn between Alonso's maiden world title and Verstappen's charge this season.
Alonso battled seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and his dominant Ferrari team whilst Verstappen is against Hamilton, who equalled Schumacher's seven-title haul last season, and the all-powerful Mercedes squad.
Asked if he felt ready to take on Schumacher in 2005, Alonso explained: "I think I felt ready before that but you never know what is going to happen in a championship.
"I felt ready, already, in 2003 probably to fight with the top guys and it is what we all feel here, I am sure.
"Any driver in the paddock thinks that with a competitive car he can be in a fight for the championship, at least I would like to imagine we all think so because if not, there is no reason to be here.
"I felt ready at that time but coming from the domination that Ferrari had for those years, you are always thinking they would bounce back and overtake in the championship on points but it was not the case so we took the championships."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- 1 hour ago
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- 2 hours ago
McLaren leading fight for HUGE cash injection
- 3 hours ago
Newey set to announce STUNNING Red Bull departure
- Yesterday 17:57
Newey Red Bull exit wish CONFIRMED as F1 guru's reasons revealed
- Yesterday 20:57
F1 legend reveals 'FLOOD' of death threats after controversial decision
- Yesterday 19:57
Related news
Alonso and Taylor Swift rumours reignited by new album lyric
F1 star PENALISED following controversial Chinese GP incident
Alonso hints at F1 retirement date after historic contract
Alonso takes CHEEKY dig at Hamilton after signing F1 contract
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860