Two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen "deserves" the 2021 title.

Last weekend we watched as the Spaniard, no slouch himself, looked on in awe as the Dutchman looked destined to take pole only to throw it all away at the final corner.

Heading into the big showdown, two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, who has seen his own fair share of controversy over the years, says that Verstappen deserves the title.

"It will depend on the package a little bit," he told reporters as the Abu Dhabi weekend got underway, "Mercedes lately have been more performing and they've won a couple of races now, but Max is driving, in my opinion, one step ahead of all of us.

"We saw the lap in Jeddah," he continued, "until he touched the wall at the last corner, that lap was coming from Max, not the Red Bull.

"In a way, that's my opinion," he added. "Mercedes deserve the constructors' championship because the car is superior and Max, maybe overall in the year, was driving one step ahead of everyone."

The Spaniard is no stranger to title showdowns having beaten Michael Schumacher in 2005 and 2006 but lost out to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and Sebastian Vettel in 2010 and again in 2012.

"It's not that I support Max," Alonso was keen to make clear, "it's that he deserves it in my opinion. Everyone has a different opinion, but he is driving that Red Bull to another level."

Asked what advice he would pass to the title protagonists, he replied: "I think they don't need advice because they are very well prepared, they are committed, they are fast, they are professional, no mistakes for both of them driving at the limit. I think it is very interesting to watch from the outside, that's good."

With 10th the best he can hope for in the 2021 standings, the Spaniard will be hoping to help Alpine hold off AlphaTauri for fifth.

"I'm not in the fight so I'm supporting my team," he said, "we are fighting for fifth in the constructors', we have a good advantage now over Pierre and Yuki and AlphaTauri but you never know what could happen in a race so you need to be focused and deliver a good performance on Sunday.

"What is happening at the front, as a motorsport fan you are following and you are aware of the stress, it's nice to watch from the outside.

"But whoever wins, it doesn't change too much your approach or your weekend, as I said, when someone asks, I can have an opinion and everyone has a different one, but I'm not supporting anyone."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 10/12/2021 5:06

"@ Hondaunearthed...Hahaha, yes that's me, Mr. Transparent."

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2. Posted by Hondaunearthed, 10/12/2021 1:30

"@Kenji I would never have guessed that."

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3. Posted by kenji, 09/12/2021 23:11

"I'm with Fernando."

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4. Posted by Hobgoblin, 09/12/2021 19:58

"@Roli PMSL"

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5. Posted by BillH, 09/12/2021 17:57

"I concur with Alonso in that Max is driving his car extremely well, as is Hamilton.
However for me it was lap after lap of that first sector at Jeddah where Verstappen was just on the edge all the time.
As an F1 fan it is great to see these two getting after it, no matter who wins.
Hopefully over the next couple of seasons we see these two and another couple of drivers get to join the party."

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6. Posted by KKK, 09/12/2021 17:37

"Hamilton still better than you ......"

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7. Posted by Defiant, 09/12/2021 17:05

"of course there's no chance he's a little bitter deep down about getting shown up by the rookie all those years ago. "

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Max "deserves" title, says Alonso

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