The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), current Formula 1 world champion, put into words his good relationship with the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), also a two-time world champion, in 2005 and 2006, assuring that he would “be very happy see him win” for the 33rd time in his career, including that “he wants to see him win more.
“Fernando should have won a lot more races, he deserves many more victories. I would be very happy to see him win the 33rd, but I want to see him win more. We’ll see in the next races,” he said at the press conference prior to the Australian Grand Prix, third appointment of the F1 calendar, which starts this Friday.
For his part, Alonso assured that he is not satisfied with achieving his 33rd victory in F1: “On 33… these things happen now on social networks. I hope I can achieve victory 33 and be able to go for 34”.
The Spaniard, Formula 1 world champion on two occasions, in 2005 and 2006, referred to the great moment that this sport is experiencing among the Spanish fans: “It’s crazy to see how Spain is now enthusiastic about Formula 1 for all that it is It’s happening. They’ve enjoyed these first two podiums and in Barcelona it’s going to be a huge atmosphere again.”
An Alonso who expects a “similar” performance from the single-seaters in Australia compared to Jeddah, where he added, after reversing a sanction on him, his 100th podium in F1. All the drivers who have added the 101 have done so with victory, but the Aston Martin driver is cautious: “We are very happy with the performance of the car, it is better than expected, especially in Jeddah. It was a good surprise. We arrived with a good level of confidence. We will see if we can maintain this rhythm”, he commented. “In Baku or Imola we will see where we really are, because the team is changing some parts of the car and they can alter the competitiveness,” he added.
In addition, Alonso, who was penalized in Saudi Arabia for not being well positioned in the starting box, when his car went off to the side, appreciated the decision of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to widen the starting boxes.
“In two races we have had two penalties and it is strange -the Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was also penalized in Bahrain-. When we position ourselves we are focused on the yellow line -the one that marks the position of the wheels- and you don’t look so much at the side. I suppose the 20 centimeters will help”, he explained.
