Alonso Calls F1 Unfair On Verstappen. Damon Hill Shoots It Down
Formula 1

Alonso Calls F1 Unfair On Verstappen. Damon Hill Shoots It Down

16 July 2026 2 min readBy F1 News Desk (AI-assisted)

Fernando Alonso argues the sport is failing its best driver as Verstappen languishes in seventh. Damon Hill's blunt reply lit the fuse on a paddock-wide row.

Key Takeaways

  • 1.But Lauda drove with his mind, not his fists." To Hill, ability was never in doubt; a title settled by the fastest car is Formula 1 doing exactly what it has always done, not a miscarriage of justice.
  • 2.Verstappen is seventh in the championship, 103 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli, and hasn't won all year — a barren run capped by a spin into the Stowe gravel late at the British Grand Prix.
  • 3."I don't know if F1 is a bit unfair in that sense.

Is Formula 1 letting Max Verstappen down? Fernando Alonso thinks so, and he said as much to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, pinning the four-time champion's grim season on the sport rather than the man behind the wheel.

"Max Verstappen is the best driver on the grid and this year he's going to finish fifth or sixth," Alonso said. "I don't know if F1 is a bit unfair in that sense. But there's no need to waste time explaining to people who don't want to understand."

The backdrop makes the argument land. Verstappen is seventh in the championship, 103 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli, and hasn't won all year — a barren run capped by a spin into the Stowe gravel late at the British Grand Prix. Watching a generational talent scrap in the midfield is precisely what gives Alonso's grievance its teeth.

Damon Hill disagreed, and briefly. The 1996 champion took to Instagram to reject the whole idea outright: "What a load of rubbish! I strongly disagree with FA here."

There's needle between Hill and Verstappen — Hill once compared him to Wacky Races' Dick Dastardly amid the 2024 title fight — but his beef here is with the argument, not Max. Asked once about Alain Prost's Verstappen-to-Lauda comparison, Hill granted the driver his due while setting a boundary: "I agree with that. He never misses a beat. But Lauda drove with his mind, not his fists." To Hill, ability was never in doubt; a title settled by the fastest car is Formula 1 doing exactly what it has always done, not a miscarriage of justice.

And that is the real fault line, because almost nobody disputes Verstappen's talent. Ralf Schumacher, hardly a cheerleader for the Verstappen camp, still puts Max "in a league of his own" among the current field. The grid agrees he is the standout driver. The split is over whether a year that leaves the best man seventh is an outrage or just racing.

Alonso, whose own career was shaped by titles decided in the design office, sees an outrage. Hill sees a great driver stuck in a poor car — a tale as old as the sport. Either way, Verstappen's task is unchanged: wring everything from an off-the-pace Red Bull, beginning at Spa, where the long straights hand him at least a fighting chance to move forward.