F1 News: Alonso Never A Red Bull Seat Contender, Verstappen Says

Max Verstappen waded into the row between Fernando Alonso and Red Bull Racing over whether there was a contract offer on the table for the Spaniard after Daniel Ricciardo announced he was leaving the team at the end of the season.

Alonso insisted Red Bull made him an offer earlier this year as they were looking for a replacement for the Australian, but team principal Christian Horner disagreed with the McLaren driver and said the team did not consider him to drive for them.

The Red Bull chief went as far as to say Alonso was never an option, adding he caused a bit of chaos at every team he joined. The statement is not far from the truth as the Spaniard has had fractious relationships with team bosses and engine manufacturers in the past.

Alonso continued to insist there was an offer and went on to give a timeline of all the offers from the Austrian-owned team, with the first having come in 2007 when he was the reigning F1 champion. And the double world champion also revealed he turned down their offer at the time, and again this year as he believed no other team apart from Mercedes and Ferrari will challenge for the title in the coming season.

Red Bull went on to hire Pierre Gasly, promoting him from sister team Toro Rosso and Verstappen was confident he could get on well with the Frenchman, who has impressed in his first full season in F1. The Dutch, who is tipped to be a future F1 world champion, also confirmed Alonso was never in the running for a drive with the team in 2019.

“Alonso was not an option for 2019. It’s something I know,” Verstappen said at a sponsor event in the Netherlands, as quoted by Planet F1.

“I think I can get along very well with Pierre (Gasly) and I think they have also evaluated that, so I am satisfied knowing that they have chosen him,” Red Bull’s de-facto number one driver added.

Alonso, meanwhile, decided to leave F1 at the end of the season after admitting he was looking for different challenges. It seems he is keen to drive in a series where he has a better chance of winning after struggling at the wrong end of the grid in F1 for the last four seasons.

The Spaniard is yet to reveal his next destination, but it is widely believed that a foray into the IndyCar Series is an option as he looks to complete the Triple Crown by having a go at the Indy500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He has already checked two boxes by winning the Monaco Grand Prix and the LeMans 24-hours race.