Villeneuve compares Alonso to Verstappen: "He’s relentless"

Jacques Villeneuve is still impressed by Fernando Alonso. The driver in the service of Alpine may be 40 years old, but that has no impact on his performance. Villeneuve compares Alonso to reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Having not driven in Formula 1 in 2019 and 2020, he returned to Alpine last year. Villeneuve sees that it has taken some time to mould the car to his liking. This year we see the old Alonso again, although that is not noticeable when you look at the ranking in the World Championship. He has collected only 18 points. This is mainly due to bad luck in terms of pit stops, strategy and retirements.

Similarities between Verstappen and Alonso

Alonso, however, is not letting himself off the hook. "He’s relentless. He’s like Max , he never gives up anything. He is race passionate and he’s a fighter, he just never gives anything up. He’s always hungry for more. It’s amazing", the Canadian told Villeneuve in the F1 Nation Podcast.

At some point, age can come into play. Alonso will be 42 by the end of 2023, but Villeneuve does not think that is insurmountable. "The hunger is still there, so you might lose a tenth or two but that gets overly compensated by experience. And as you can you can see now he’s a very experienced driver. He’s not the youngest on the grid but look what he’s doing against [Esteban] Ocon now. He’s there when it’s needed.”