Max Verstappen lauds rival, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, describing him as a "real racer" and "an animal".

This weekend sees Aston Martin introduce its much-anticipated upgrade, and while it is unlikely to fulfil Lawrence Stroll's desire to see both of his drivers on the podium, Fernando Alonso is aiming to pick up where he left off before the disappointment of Barcelona.

The Spaniard was widely tipped for success in Monaco due to the nature of the track which means that over the years the results have often tended to upset the formbook, and even then, speaking ahead of the race, Verstappen admitted that if he couldn't win he would be happy to see Alonso on the top step.

Ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso having won here in 2006, Verstappen praised the two-time world champion.

"If you ask me one driver who I would like to see win a race, it's him," the Dutchman told reporters.

"I like him," he added. "He never gave up and you can see he loves the sport. Sometimes, after so many years of only having a car that is capable of driving in the midfield, maybe you lose a bit of that love but he is a real racer. He is an animal."

A win this weekend would see the Dutchman score Red Bull's 100th grand prix win, it would also put him level with Ayrton Senna, however, the youngster was keen to dismiss any talk of comparing records.

"People always have different kind of careers," he said. "Maybe some drivers get into a race-winning car sooner than others.

"Nowadays, we have more races than back in the day so I never really look at the numbers, but as a kid I would never have imagined to be in that list. It is an amazing career for sure but you can't compare it."

Asked about his and his team's current domination of the sport, he admitted that such supremacy might not be popular with everyone.

"It is nice sometimes to have good competition," he said. "For the sport in general, I understand of course if people get a bit bored if only one team is dominating. We have seen it also in the past with Mercedes and Ferrari and Red Bull.

"For sure, I hope that more teams can get together. At least then, even if you have a little issue or whatever or you can't get the set-up fully at 100%, there is another team to win.

"It is all about hard work. I appreciated what they were doing. It was super impressive at the time. I never really felt you had to stop that. It was all about trying to work harder and catch up.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Editor, 18/06/2023 6:55

"@ Kenji

It really is one of my pet peeves.

I can understand special liveries every now and then, but every race?

Visiting the Libreria at Monza, Mario had a large number of 1:8 scale helmets on sale, covering everyone from Fangio onwards, including Mike Hawthorn’s ‘visor helmet’.

All the liveries were instantly recognizable… so personal, and so evocative.

Personally, I always loved Ignazio Giunti’s ‘aztec’ design.

Now they change them willy-nilly, often for commercial reasons, and for the most part they are instantly forgettable.

Still, it’s good for the merchandise sales."

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2. Posted by kenji, 18/06/2023 6:10

"@Ed....an astute observation missed by moi. Lately, out of the car, the pair seem to be enjoying the season as their demeanor appears quite cheery."

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3. Posted by Editor, 17/06/2023 12:00

"@ Kenji

Ignoring the pearl necklaces... the other thing that occurs to me is that neither feels the need to change their helmet every single race weekend, instead focussing on what really matters... racing."

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4. Posted by kenji, 17/06/2023 11:53

"I think that they recognise that they both share similar sentiments and that is a 'singlemindedness'. Neither of them pose as anything that they are not. What you see is what you get sans 'wokeness' and pearl necklaces!"

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5. Posted by Chester, 16/06/2023 15:39

"Who would have thought these two drivers like each other?"

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"He's an animal!" says Verstappen of Alonso

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