Fernando Alonso downplays Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s success… and insists ‘they didn’t build anything to become champions’
- Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have won eight of the last nine titles
- Two-time champion Fernando Alonso has downplayed their success
- The Spaniard says their dominance is due to changes in F1 regulations
Fernando Alonso has dismissed the idea that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have played a crucial role in ‘building’ their success over the past decade.
Hamilton, who joined Mercedes in 2013, won six championships in seven years between 2014 and 2020 – with only former team-mate Nico Rosberg briefly ending his dominance of the sport in 2016.
Verstappen guided Hamilton to the 2021 championship and is well on course for his third title in a row with Red Bull, having won 12 of the first 14 races of the 2023 season.
Alonso is widely regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid alongside Verstappen and Hamilton, but has not won a title since 2006.
As reported by MarkAlonso insisted Verstappen and seven-time champion Hamilton have only found winning teams, rather than building one.
Fernando Alonso has refuted claims that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen ‘built’ their success at Mercedes and Red Bull respectively
Verstappen and Hamilton have won eight of the last nine Drivers’ Championships since 2014
He said: “When Hamilton went to Mercedes he didn’t build anything to be champion.
“It was only a change in the regulations (hybrid engines) that changed everything on the grid and gave Mercedes a boost.
“I think the same with Max, when he came to Toro Rosso and Red Bull, Hamilton kept winning everything.
“Red Bull is not a winning team thanks to him, simply a new rule change in 2021 has ensured that they have now won all races.
“Ultimately you just have to be in the right place at the right time. So I’m not exactly sure what they mean when they say you ‘build’ teams around you.’
It’s been ten years since Alonso last won a race, with a series of wrong career decisions resulting in him not being in a race-winning car in that time.
Alonso has enjoyed greater success since joining Aston Martin in 2023, taking seven podium finishes and holding a six-point lead over Hamilton in third in the championship, albeit 194 points behind Verstappen in the dominant Red Bull.
Verstappen took ten wins in a row at the Italian Grand Prix and is on course for his third title
Hamilton has won a record 103 races in his career, but it’s been almost two years since his last
Alonso won the last of his two titles in 2006, but has rarely been in a title-challenging car since then.
The Spaniard was last in contention for the drivers’ title in 2012, when he took on Red Bull’s then lead driver Sebastian Vettel in a weak Ferrari car.
He missed out on the title by just three points, making it his third close call after finishing four points behind Vettel in 2010 and just one point behind Kimi Raikkonen when he raced alongside Hamilton at McLaren in 2007.
The 42-year-old said the only regret he has in his career is not winning the title with Ferrari.