Fernando Alonso hailed a “magical” and “outstanding” Max Verstappen, who took a stunning pole position at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
Nobody saw Verstappen’s fourth consecutive pole position at Suzuka coming, but the Dutchman shocked the F1 fraternity and wider watching world with a stunning performance.
A lap record effort saw Verstappen narrowly beat the much-fancied McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
As Verstappen put in his stunning lap, Alonso was poised to speak to Dutch broadcaster Viaplay, eyes ablaze and mouth open in amazement at what he was witnessing on the nearby television screens.
“Only he can do it,” Alonso told the Dutch broadcaster in amazement.
The veteran Spaniard doubled down on that opinion when speaking to written media, including Motorsport Week.
“He’s an outstanding driver. He’s proving it every weekend,” he said.
“Hats off for him. I think the lap he did today is only down to him.
“I think the car is clearly not at the level to fight for pole or even the top five.
“But he manages to do that magical laps and magical weekends.
“At the moment, he’s the best, he’s the reference for all of us, and we need to keep improving to reach that level.”
Verstappen reacts to ‘very special’ pole position
Verstappen’s 41st pole position could be regarded as one of his finest.
He was asked whether he’d rank the lap at number one in the post-qualifying press conference, and while he couldn’t give a sure answer, it was definitely a lap worth savouring.
“I’ve had some really nice [pole positions] also in other places,” Verstappen said.
“But I think if you look at how our season started, even during this weekend… yeah, it’s very unexpected, I would say.
“And I think that makes it probably a very special one.
“Yeah, a lot of happiness when I crossed the line.
“The whole qualifying, we just kept on trying to improve the situation a bit. And the final lap, honestly, it was very good.
“I had a lot of fun out there, being fully committed everywhere.
“Some places, not sure if I was actually going to keep it or not, but yeah, it was really nice. And also great for the team as well.”
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