Alonso thinks he deserves F1 qualifying award

Dec.8 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says 2024 was his “best season” in the discipline of Formula 1 qualifying.

The two-time champion has contested an incredible 21 F1 seasons, but he smiled when told by DAZN that Max Verstappen recently complimented his talent.

“Is Max saying that I also would have been champion a long time ago in a McLaren or a Ferrari?” the 43-year-old Spaniard said. “Me too, even before him,” he laughed.

However, Alonso made clear he was not completely joking.

Having told the media on multiple occasions that the 2024 Aston Martin was among the slowest cars of all this year, Alonso told his team on the radio in Abu Dhabi that the green machine is in fact “the worst car ever”.

“That’s what always happens,” Alonso said, rolling his eyes. “FOM is quite obsessed with my radio and taking it out of context. These are private conversations that you have with the team and they then tell the world.

“I always say things that are positive, but they only want to portray me as a grumpy guy. They’ve been doing it for years.”

However, Alonso admits he is particularly proud of what he has been able to do with his “worst car” on Saturdays this season.

“16 out of 24 times in Q3, with the car we have this year, I think it shows that it must be my best season as a qualifier,” he said.

“If I was voting, I would definitely give myself the award,” Alonso said, smiling again. “I don’t think we’ve had a car many, many times out of those 16 good enough to get into Q3.”