Formula 1: Max Verstappen makes Fernando Alonso world title claim

Max Verstappen has said that Fernando Alonso should have more world titles than he currently does in Formula 1.

The Dutchman is on the verge of making himself a double world champion at Suzuka this weekend, and will be hoping for a much smoother weekend than the one just gone in Singapore, that saw his title wait moving on to Japan.

Ultimately, though, he is going to win that second world title at some point before the end of the campaign and he will be alongside the likes of Mika Hakkinen and Jim Clark, as well as Alonso, as a two-time world champion.

Many believe that Max will add more to his tally in the years ahead as well, given he is in his mid-20s and has plenty of his career in front of him, but then many would have thought that about Alonso in 2006 after he became a double world champion, and we know what happened there.

Indeed, Alonso has not always made the best career moves in terms of timing with him not in the quickest car on the grid for much of his spell in F1 and that, given the nature of the sport, has potentially cost him more world titles – though he was very close in 2007, 2010 and 2012 to adding to his haul.

Verstappen believes Fernando should have more trophies in the cabinet, too, with him saying:

“In F1, you need a bit of luck, and you need to have the luck that you make the right decision and then have a dominant car for a long time.

Because I mean, obviously, if you would have put Fernando in the cars where other people have won championships with, he would have done the same. But that’s not how F1 works.

“At the end of the day, he still won two titles, so I think he’s done very well for himself. And he’s also a great guy and a great personality for F1.”

Fernando’s love for competing in F1 is