‘Opening the eyes’ – Alonso weighs in on Verstappen impact after Nürburgring 24 debut
Max Verstappen was denied victory on his first visit to the Max Verstappen looks on in the garage during the Nürburgring 24 Hours
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso says F1 remains the pinnacle of motorsport, but seeing the likes of Max Verstappen in other series helps fans “open the eyes” to other categories.
Verstappen said his entry into the Nürburgring 24 Hours earlier this month “reminds me how pure motorsport can be” having been a vocal critic of the F1 2026 regulations so far.
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Verstappen believes the proposed tweaks to Formula 1 power units in 2027 are the minimum necessary to help improve the driving experience behind the wheel, with battery management having taken on added importance in this regulation set.
Alonso compared this to his own foray in different series, having led the Indianapolis 500 on debut in 2017 before a mid-race issue saw him finish down in 24th, but he went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice with Toyota in his subsequent two-year sabbatical in Formula 1.
The two-time world champion, who returned to F1 with Alpine in 2021 before joining Aston Martin, believes Formula 1 remains the top of the motorsport tree but represents only a tiny fraction of what people can experience in motorsport as a whole.
Asked if it was sad to see the likes of Verstappen and certain fans turn to different events for so-called ‘pure racing’, Alonso replied: “I don’t think that they can call that ‘pure racing’, it’s just a different series.
“But it’s good that they discover different sports and different categories, different ways of enjoying motorsport.
“Formula 1 is just one per cent of the whole motorsport environment and I think people enjoy [other series].
“I remember when I did the Indy 500, first test, it was like two million [people] on YouTube, just watching me doing laps around the oval, alone, and then they followed it a bit that season.
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“There were like two Europeans driving in IndyCar, now they are 80 per cent Europeans [40 per cent European, 68 per cent non-US, ed.] driving in IndyCar, so hopefully more people will go to the Nürburgring or to Le Mans in the future or whatever.
“If top drivers in Formula 1 [take part], they are just opening the eyes for fans into a new series.
“Formula 1 is the pinnacle and lovely, but also the other series are just as magic as Formula 1 in a sense.”
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