Fernando Alonso deserves more wins than he’s had so far in his career, says championship leader Max Verstappen, who would like to see him take more.
Verstappen surpassed Alonso’s total of 32 career wins last year. His fellow two-times world champion is approaching the 10th anniversary of his last win in F1, which came at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2013.
However Alonso’s two podium finishes from the opening races of 2023 have fuelled expectations he may finally take his 33rd victory. If he does, Verstappen says it will be entirely deserved.
“I think Fernando should have won anyway already a lot more races than what he has done,” said Verstappen. “I think he deserves a lot more.
“I would be quite happy to see him win number 33. But I also, in a way, also I would like to see him win more. So we’ll see in the coming races.”
Several Spanish sportspeople have shown their support for Alonso’s pursuit of his 33rd win on social media. “It’s crazy to see how Spain is now so enthusiastic again for Formula 1 and for everything that is happening,” said the Aston Martin driver. “So this is very nice to see and hopefully I think they did enjoy these first two podiums the whole country.”
“This 33, I don’t know, all these things that are happening now in social media, it was ‘El Plan’ three years ago and then the mission and now ’33’ so there are a lot of 33s,” he added. “All the football clubs or footballers or tennis or whatever they are always doing something with 33. So hopefully we can reach that number in terms of wins and then we go for 34.”
Alonso expects F1’s visit to the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona for the eighth round of the championship in June will be “a big thing this year again.”
Verstappen began using 33 as his car number when he arrived in F1 eight years ago, but switched to number one last season following his world championship victory. “If he is still using number one I will ask [for] 33 next year,” Alonso joked.
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