Alesi sees a change in Verstappen: 'He didn't take any risks'

F1 News

15 October 2021 at 10:54
Last update 15 October 2021 at 12:16
  • GPblog.com

Jean Alesi is enjoying the title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but felt the two went too far at Monza. According to the Frenchman, however, the title rivals have learned from this and Alesi also sees a different driving style from Verstappen.

Verstappen and Hamilton over the limit

From the first race of the 2021 Formula One season, it was already clear that the title fight will be between Hamilton and Verstappen. The two have already fought out several duels this season, but things went wrong at Silverstone and Monza. Alesi thinks that the two should make sure that this will not happen again.

"This year it's great to be so uncertain every race and every qualifying session. The only thing I didn't like was Monza, because it's fine to fight, but they both went too far there. I don't want to blame one or the other. I hope they keep fighting hard, but in a fair way. And that it continues until the end, until the last race", said Alesi at La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Change at Verstappen

"Even in the last GP in Turkey you could see that Verstappen has changed his attitude. He didn't take risks, but that doesn't surprise me. He is starting to use his experience and he knows he doesn't have to fall into the traps of Mercedes' strategy. For me, they both deserve this title, so my prediction is balanced: fifty-fifty."

However, the former Formula One driver hopes the two will be spared technical glitches. "The only thing I hope is that reliability doesn't decide the championship, but there's a danger of that. Both are already on their fourth engines, which will have to do for six races, plus a sprint race in Brazil", concluded Alesi.