“I think we’re coming from countries that they are not really into F1 so much, especially Spain, I would say, because Jos Verstappen was already a master. In fact, I raced with Jos a couple of years and with Max eight”, confessed Alonso in Las Vegas.
On the eve of the GP,  Fernando pointed pit some  similarities with himself and Verstappen when asked about their mutual respect for each other. There are plenty of parallels in their early careers: short junior racing careers before entering F1 at a precocious age (Alonso at 19 in 2001, Verstappen at 17) with Minardi/Toro Rosso, preceding swift promotions to a team on the cusp of regular race wins.
“It is a tough environment. And when you come here and you have some success at the beginning of your career, and maybe you are not the good guy, if I can say that. And maybe you are not politically correct.
“You are not in the system. You are more yourself than what you should be. And I think it’s what I saw in Max as well.
“A part of that strong personality, the results and the talent, not only in F1, also in the junior categories and from karting already that we all knew that it was this kid coming. In my case, I had always a lot of respect for Verstappen.”
 Beyond their maiden years, their career paths have varied significantly; Verstappen has spent his decade in F1 glued to the Red Bull ecosystem, while Alonso spent his first 10 years hopping around from Renault, to McLaren, to Renault again, before joining Ferrari.
Moreover, Alonso never truly got the chance to jump into a dominant car across his time in F1; both title wins with Renault were achieved on the back of thrilling year-long scraps with Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher respectively. Alonso came close to two titles with Ferrari, but both ended in agonising defeat to Sebastian Vettel in the superior Red Bull machinery.
Verstappen echoed:  “What I like is that Fernando’s mentality and just general personality is just himself, which I think is just very nice to deal with. You see what you get,” Verstappen responded.
“Before I was in Formula 1 – it might sound a bit funny, but when Fernando was fighting against Red Bull, I was cheering for him to do a good job: being that underdog and still getting these results and dragging the car to wins when he shouldn’t.
“It attracts you as a driver, you like what you see is a proper fighter. And he still is. I mean, I have a lot of respect for what Fernando is still doing at his age.  It’s very nice to see someone have that much passion for the sport.”