At 41, Fernando Alonso is certainly not the youngest driver on the F1 grid, but the two-time world champion continues to deliver week in, week out. In the Belgian Grand Prix, Alonso again showed fine performances and maximised his chances with a fifth place. Michael Schmidt thinks the Spaniard is the best driver in the current field.

"Alpine was impressive and Alonso, you can trust him to do the job. When the car belongs in fourth position he will finish there," Schmidt said on the F1 Nation Podcast. According to the journalist of Auto, Motor und Sport , the race at Spa-Francorchamps is further proof that Alonso has not slowed down much over the years. The two-year sabbatical does not seem to bother him much either.

Alonso showed great racing skills in the view of the German. "He’s fast when he needs to be and slow when he can afford to. He had a very long last stint, I think he pitted on Lap 25 and it was a very long stint compared to Ocon and Vettel, his rivals. He had the nerves to go slower to keep his tyres alive when Ocon was catching up then all of a sudden he picked up pace again."

Alonso better than Verstappen?

When Schmidt is asked by presenter Tom Clarkson if Alonso still has it in him to win a third world title in the pinnacle of motor sport, he answers very firmly: "Yes, 100%. For me he is still the best on the grid. ahead of Verstappen. He is good in all disciplines". Still, he thinks that in terms of pure speed, Alonso was not as fast as he used to be because he has aged a few years. Nevertheless, Schmidt still rates him higher than Verstappen.