Alonso backs Hamilton to win eighth F1 title, but has Verstappen record warning

Hamilton has been unable to compete for the championship since he was controversially denied winning a record-breaking eighth drivers’ crown at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

Having missed out on a title that would have seen him move clear of the all-time record he currently shares with fellow seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, Hamilton has been forced to watch Verstappen dominate amid Mercedes’ struggles. 

But two-time world champion Alonso has backed Hamilton, 38, to achieve his goal before he hangs up his helmet. 

“I don’t know if that will be next year, or in the future, but he will have another chance of winning the championship, that is for sure,” Alonso told the PA. 

“Mercedes are a very strong team, and Lewis is a very strong driver. He doesn’t forget how to drive from one season to the next.

“The Mercedes car is not an easy one to drive and it is not a fast car, but you see every weekend that Lewis is always there – fourth, fifth, fourth, and he was second in Australia. He is driving on top of the car.”

Verstappen appears well on course to clinch a third consecutive world championship this season, having won four of the six races in Red Bull’s unbeaten RB19. 

Ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen admitted his Red Bull car has the outright pace to win all the remaining races this season. 

And Alonso reckons Verstappen, who is still only 25, can go on to set a new benchmark of F1 records. 

“Until the regulations change in 2026, Red Bull will contend for the championships so there will be many chances for Max to win races,” the Spaniard explained. 

“He is young, the calendar is longer than ever before, with 24 opportunities to win every year, so he can break the records along the way.

“But there are also no guarantees. When I won two championships [in 2005 and 2006], I thought I would win a few more and have a lot of wins, so Max cannot relax because things can change quickly.”