Fernando Alonso still believes in his ability (Image: Getty)
believes that and ’s other recent title rivals ‘have not managed to intimidate him’, promising to change that trend if give him a car to fight with in 2026.
The Silverstone-based team were the second-fastest team for the first half of the 2023 campaign but have been on a steady downward trajectory since then. Aston Martin have only seen both of their drivers score points in two of the last 19 Grands Prix, leaving them in a midfield no man’s land in the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has sealed a fourth Drivers’ Championship title after finishing one place ahead of Norris in Las Vegas, despite leaving the United States with just one win in his last 12 Grand Prix starts.
The Dutchman has performed a damage limitations masterclass, while his elbow’s out style cost Norris critical points in Austria, Austin and Mexico City. According to Alonso, the Brit needed to rough up his title more if he wanted a serious shot at the silverware.
“All those who have fought Max have not managed to intimidate him much,” the 43-year-old told DAZN after the race in Las Vegas. “I hope it is my turn [in 2026] and I can change history.”
After crossing the line in P6, Norris admitted that didn’t have enough to truly take the fight to Verstappen and in 2024, but insisted that lessons have been learned and that he is ready to fight from the offset when the 2025 campaign gets underway in Melbourne.
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Lando Norris was ultimately unable to trump Max Verstappen (Image: Getty)
“I’m very proud of the whole team for putting up the fight for so long, for starting to catch up and catching up as much as we did,” he said. “We were the fourth-best team at the beginning of the year,” Norris said.
” have never been the fourth-best team or worst, let’s say, ever. We had just too big of a deficit to catch up from the beginning of the season, and we could not, because they’ve been too strong.
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“Next year, we’ll go into the season with a car we think we can win a championship with from round one, and we’ve not been able to do that for the last six years, so I’m excited for that. But I’m proud of what we’ve achieved.
“My first win in Formula One, my first three [wins], no one else is there fighting him. It’s been me and it’s been . Could we have done some things better? Absolutely. Do I think we could have won the championship even with a perfect season? I don’t. So I’m happy to finish second.”