“Every miniseries deserves a villain like Verstappen and a beloved heartthrob like Alonso”

In 2005 Verstappen was eight years old and was studying the first years of primary education from home. “They were years of a lot of work where the cars were everything to me. I don’t remember my childhood away from engines and tracks”, Max recalled a few years ago. Days of effort where his great motivation was to emulate on the kart tracks what his idols of the Formula One. And among all those figures there was a name that stood out above the rest: Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, just that 2005, established himself monarch on a Renault, beating the chilling Räikkönen (McLaren) and Schumacher himself (Ferrari). Then would come the two-time championship (2005-2006) of the Asturian.

Today in a season where technology invades single-seaters more and more and street cars conquer the calendar, Alonso is the last link with the past. In these hours when telemetry is everything and the charisma of the pilots seems to be eclipsed by efficiency, the Asturian is a true gem. They all want it. Even his enemies. He, alive as he is, knows this and from there he says what he wants.

As if that were not enough, he has the second fastest car on the grid. The results so far are more than encouraging for society Alonso-Aston Martin. He has had an average rating of 4 in contested grids (0.2 ahead of Sainz), and an average rating of 3.2 in races (1.6 ahead of Hamilton and more than 2 ahead of Leclerc). The car has thus shown superiority over Ferrari and Mercedes at this start of the season to the point that several have begun to think about what a victory for Fernando could be.

A challenge that the Spanish does not renounce: “We have a car that may not be the fastest on the straights, but we are very good in the corners. With that in mind I would say that we will have more options on the tracks with the slower speeds. Let’s say Monaco (next Sunday), Budapest (07/09), Singapore (09/17). If you expect our victory on those days, give us some coins”. It is clear that Aston Martin does not have a car to fight for the lead equally, but they are aware that with the relevant improvements, the precise circuit and the misfortune of the winged bulls, the Champagne bath could be in their favor.

to improve

Nobody doubts the dominance of Red Bull, but in terms of evolution and performance, everyone is excited about what can happen with Aston Martin. ,advanced Mike Krack, team leader of the emerald house. In addition to the engine improvements, the team knows that it has room to evolve when it comes to pit stops. So far this season they have the eighth efficiency on the grid, being almost a second slower than Red Bull and Ferrari by stoppage. A world of time in a category where life is defined in thousandths.

Will Fernando be able to challenge for the drivers’ title? Very difficult, but he is going to annoy several. Not bad for a forty-year-old man surrounded by twenty-somethings. An encouraging plan for a pilot who was probably hung, like a poster, in the teenage bedrooms of half of the rivals with whom he shares the grid today. After five races disputed it is clear that with his four podium finishes he has managed to be seen as a threat. Now he lacks the victory to sign the reality check. A triumph for Verstappen to awaken the inner child who admired him back in 2005.

Fact: Aston Martín is preparing changes for its car that will be seen in Canada (next June) and England (July). There is high expectation in the circuit.