Alonso caused a stir at the start of the summer break when he announced he was leaving Alpine for Aston Martin on a two-year deal.
The Spaniard’s move came as a surprise, because while Alpine is struggling to be the best of the rest in F1 behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, Aston Martin is currently ninth in the overall constructors’ standings, after a poor first half of the course. hard.
But while Alonso accepts there is no guarantee Aston Martin will improve to the level he expects, world champion Max Verstappen believes the Spaniard’s motivation stems from the “exciting” idea of leading the team.
Speaking of the Alonso bombshell that sparked chaos in the driver market, Verstappen said: “It was very exciting. With Fernando, why not?”
“I think Aston Martin is still a team that wants to be at the front. They are hiring a lot of people. So I can understand Fernando going there and trying to get to another level. It’s exciting, I can understand that.”
Alonso’s departure, when Alpine expected him to stay, has set in motion a sequence of events that has seen Daniel Ricciardo part ways with McLaren at the end of this season.
As the Australian’s former team-mate, Verstappen acknowledged that Ricciardo ‘s ongoing problems at McLaren have made it make sense for both sides to look at other options.
“I think he was in a situation where the car didn’t suit him,” added the Red Bull driver. “There was no real upgrade to make him feel better in the car.”
“I guess when you talk to someone else, because we’ve been talking a lot, you say ‘maybe we better go our separate ways’. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
Asked if he was surprised by the usual performance gap between Lando Norris and Ricciardo at McLaren, Verstappen added: “I think Lando, of course, is a great driver.”
“But I think we all know that if you’re not comfortable in the car and you can’t drive it the way you want to, you’re never going to be on the same level as the guy who is maybe more comfortable.”
“I don’t know exactly what was between the two drivers, but if it doesn’t work out sometimes you have to go somewhere else.”
Verstappen had hoped Ricciardo would secure his F1 seat for 2023 now that he has announced his departure from McLaren.
“It’s great to have him in F1,” he said. “He’s a great guy. First of all, I get on really well with him. And of course I hope he finds a place.”
“But obviously now it’s up to him. And I don’t know where he wants to go or where there’s room for him.”
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