Alonso: 'Hopefully Mercedes they will make some fight with Red Bull'

Fernando Alonso has been a regular on the F1 podium this season. It has not come to a victory (yet). Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are unbeatable with Red Bull Racing for now. But a breakdown or accident could mean that the Austrian team does not take victory for once. Alonso then seems the main candidate to strike. Or will it be Mercedes that takes advantage then?

Alonso revealed at the press conference ahead of the Sprint and Austrian Grand Prix that it is possible for his Aston Martin to be on the top step of the podium if both Red Bulls crash out or suffer setbacks. But Alonso will certainly not underestimate Mercedes in that case.

'Mercedes are going to be very competitive'

The Spaniard did not want to say that Aston Martin is better than Mercedes. "No, of course. Mercedes is going to be very competitive," Alonso said. "They are a very strong team, very strong drivers. They will be in the fight every weekend for podiums, for race wins. They said they will bring some significant upgrades to the car and hopefully they will make some fight with Red Bull as well in the future."

With the updates introduced by Mercedes in Monaco, the German team seems to have taken a big step forward. It has not yet proved enough to compete for wins. "I think Mercedes proves many times that they will be a contender for everything every weekend. Obviously, our target and our goal is to catch Red Bull eventually, one day. But in the process of doing that, we know that Ferrari and Mercedes will be very strong."