F1 News: Max Verstappen Takes A Dig At Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen has taken a thinly veiled dig at Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, who are among the two most successful drivers on the Formula 1 grid at the moment.

The Red Bull Racing driver first commented on Alonso’s decision to do a full season of World Endurance Championship racing while competing in the F1 and then seemed to suggest that any driver in the F1 could have won the title in a Mercedes car in the last four seasons.

Alonso, a double F1 world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, has struggled with an uncompetitive car in recent seasons. McLaren, his current team have struggled to build a car strong enough to challenge at the top end of the grid, which has seen him focus his attention on other forms of motorsport.

The Woking-based team had a miserable time with Honda as their engine partners for three seasons, but despite switching to Renault power in 2018 they are unable to get to the sharp end of the grid. Alonso despite putting on a brave face is looking at other avenues to quench his thirst for race wins.

The Spaniard is targeting motorsport’s fabled "triple crown" which requires one to win the Monaco Grand Prix, the LeMans 24-hours race and the Indy 500. He has won the first two, with the LeMans win coming earlier this year and his first try at IndyCar in 2017 saw him retire in the final laps.

Alonso continues to focus his attention elsewhere and Verstappen believes it is due to McLaren not providing him with a car that can win in F1. He is certain that the double world champion would not have done the same had he had Hamilton’s title winning Mercedes car.

The Silver Arrows team have been dominant in the last four years since the sport switched to V6 Turbo engines with energy recovery systems (ERS), having won four Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles back-to-back. 2018 is the first time they are being consistently challenged after Ferrari made a significant step forward.

The Dutch driver believes that any driver in F1 could have won with the Mercedes in the last four years, which takes away credit from the British driver’s achievements. He also believes that is the reason Hamilton is not looking at other forms of motorsport.

Even Red Bull Racing have been in contention for race wins this season and the last, and Verstappen suggests that he is happy competing in F1 rather than look at IndyCar or WEC. He would not have made many happy when he said: "Maybe. If I'm old and slow, I will do it," referring to when he might consider switching sports.

"When you have the best car on the grid, everyone can win with that car,” Verstappen said, as quoted by the Express. "Any F1 driver could have won in the Mercedes for the last four years. Everyone knows that. That's why you don't see Hamilton leaving to do these things because he doesn't need to."

“It's the same for me. I'm in a position to fight for victories, so my motivation is very high,” he added. "I don't want to do Le Mans or IndyCar or whatever."