Fernando Alonso says he understands why Max Verstappen used the opportunity to compete in series outside Formula 1 in the last two weekends where no grand prix took place.
The Red Bull driver made two visits to the Nurburgring Nordschleife to contest sports car races on the famous German track. He won last weekend’s GT3 race in an Emil Frey Ferrari shared with Chris Lulham.
Alonso has raced in IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship before. He intends to do more racing outside F1 in the future but doesn’t want to combine the two.
“I’m a big fan of motorsport outside Formula 1,” he said. “I think it’s more pure, more clean, more fun.
“I did two years and I will do in the future. I don’t know in what intensity but in the future I will do [some].
“Right now, [while I’m] in Formula 1, I find it difficult to share other projects because you need to dedicate everything in your day and in your life to Formula 1, in my opinion.”
He joked Verstappen’s appearances at the Nurburgring were “the first step to compete in the top races!”
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“No, jokes apart, he did great, but his talent is out of the question. Obviously I think he wants to try something different than Formula 1 right now or even in the future. The 24-hour races are the pinnacle of endurance racing.”
Alonso won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota in 2018 and 2019 and said he would “love to” return to the race and share a car with Verstappen.
“His talent is [beyond] any doubt and the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the best endurance race in the world and the most prestigious 24-hour race in the world,” he said. “Endurance racing is a fun part of motorsport where you share the track with different categories with different drivers and you share your car also with other drivers and one day if there is an opportunity for sure we will explore it.”
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