Column | Verstappen looks like Alonso, but also copied from Hamilton

Where connoisseurs and many of his fans repeatedly called for him to make a switch to Mercedes or Ferrari between 2018 and 2020, Max Verstappen is showing that he has learned from the past. Verstappen and his management appear to be an upgrade over Fernando Alonso.

The resemblance to Alonso

In many ways, Alonso and Verstappen are similar. In the past I have also compared the two on occasion. Both not very talkative, both non-Brits in a British sport, the whole country is crazy about F1 and they approach the whole sport just a little bit differently than the rest. Not driving neatly like most of those neat Brits, but fighting, like they had to do their whole lives to get there.

It is also not surprising that Alonso is such a fan of Verstappen. The Spaniard respects Lewis Hamilton as a driver, but has never been able to understand him as a human being. With Verstappen, there are many more links to make, because the two are simply a lot alike on and off the track. They are unique in their own way, but so similar because of it.

Because of that similarity, however, you also quickly look at the lesser sides of a person. Alonso never seemed to develop enormously in his career. The battle with Hamilton in 2007 was mainly outside the track, while he could have learned from Hamilton on the track to become a better driver. That stubbornness broke him later in his career.

Alonso also didn't make it easy on himself in his career by arguing at every team with his big mouth. As a result, he now had nowhere to go but Alpine, no matter how good a driver he is. With that big mouth, he left several times (often too early) for another team.

At the beginning of the Red Bull period, the team Verstappen seemed to have a hand in this as well. The Dutchman is hard on the track and also made some mistakes early in his career. Instead of admitting this, he was sometimes very stubborn in front of cameras. However, if you look at his development on the track, you can see that he actually learns from his mistakes and starts driving better and better.

Did Verstappen even want to leave?

That he would always have to leave for another team, is perhaps also a world that was created by the fans and followers around him. If things didn't work out with Red Bull, Renault or Honda, there was immediately talk of leaving for Mercedes or Ferrari, no matter how unlikely that seemed in those situations. Verstappen himself, however, never spoke about leaving.

With the clause in his 2019 contract whereby he could leave if he was not in the top three by mid-season that year, Max caused even more speculation. This clause was understandable though, with Red Bull's risky switch to Honda's engine. Then there were some noises in 2020, but the Verstappen camp itself remained silent.

In 2021, Verstappen finally won the title and I no longer heard any of those experts or fans argue that he should have gone to Mercedes or Ferrari. Indeed, Ferrari had long since fallen back and in hindsight had turned out not to be such a smart move after all, no matter how great the name. The Verstappen camp is showing in this that they are an upgrade from Alonso.

Alonso 2.0

Whereas Alonso, with his various transfers, was never able to completely bend a team to his will, Verstappen has adopted a trick from Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. The great champions didn't drive for many teams, but knew how to mould one big team to their will with the right people in all positions and all the budget at their disposal. That's how you can win the world title more often.

Verstappen needed some patience at Red Bull Racing before everything fell into place, but he has everything he wants here. He is with a team that has the (financial) resources to compete at the top, a team with its own engine that can be tuned to the car, one of the best technical directors in Adrian Newey and a stable top with Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Dietrich Mateschitz.

With that title in his pocket, Verstappen can now look ahead and go for many more world titles with his team. It won't be that easy, but there is no place in F1 where Verstappen will be better off than at Red Bull. A deal through 2028 is not such a bad idea in that respect.