Fernando Alonso wishes Max Verstappen ‘luck’ as Dutchman looks to avoid copying Spaniard | F1 | Sport

Fernando Alonso has wished Drivers’ Championship winner-elect Max Verstappen ‘luck’ as he closes in on successive titles. The Dutchman could win the championship at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. Verstappen could equal Alonso’s 32 race wins if he succeeds in Singapore this week, while he could also match the Spaniard’s two world championships. Alonso has joked that he hopes Verstappen enjoys more success in the future – unlike the 41-year-old, who has not won a race since he was 26 and has never added to his two titles. The Alpine star believes that Verstappen will be an all-time great in Formula One and deserves to win the championship this season. He has backed the 25-year-old to get even better. “I think so, yes. He’s 24 or 25, no? So there’s still a lot in front of him, but I wish him more luck than me because I was also 26 with those stats and still have the same stats at 40! But I’m sure with Red Bull and how things look for the future, he will only get better,” Alonso told journalists.JUST IN: Lewis Hamilton and Russell sent reality check ahead of Singapore GPVerstappen has insisted that he will need plenty of luck to win the championship in Singapore. It is likelier he will win it in Japan a week later. He arrives at the Marina Bay Street Circuit with a 116-point lead over nearest rival Charles Leclerc. In order to settle it in Sunday’s 61-lap event, Verstappen needs to outscore Leclerc by 22 points, Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by 13 and Mercedes’ George Russell by six.“I don’t really think about it. It’s quite a long shot,” Verstappen said. “I just want to enjoy the weekend and, of course, try to win it.”



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