Jacques Villeneuve is still impressed by Fernando Alonso. The Alpine driver may be 40 years old, but this has no impact on his performance. Villeneuve compares Alonso to current world champion Max Verstappen.
Jacques Villeneuve is still impressed by Fernando Alonso. The Alpine driver may be 40 years old, but this has no impact on his performance. Villeneuve compares Alonso to current world champion Max Verstappen.
Having not driven in F1 in 2019 and 2020, he returned to Alpine last year. Villeneuve sees that it took some time to mold the car to his liking. This year we saw the old Alonso again, although that is not noticeable when you look at the table. He has accumulated only 18 points. This is mainly due to bad luck in terms of pit stops, strategies and abandonments.
"He (Alonso) is relentless. He is like Max, he never gives up on anything. He is passionate about racing and he is a fighter, he never gives up on anything. He is always hungry for more. It's amazing," said the Canadian Villeneuve on the F1 Nation Podcast.
At some point, age may come into play. Alonso will turn 42 by the end of 2023, but Villeneuve doesn't think that's insurmountable. "The hunger is still there, so you may lose a tenth or two, but that is very much offset by the experience," he commented.
"And as you can see now, he is a very experienced driver. He is not the youngest on the grid, but look at what he is doing against (Esteban) Ocon now. He is there when he is needed," Villeneuve concluded.