Fernando Alonso has done something incredibly rare in Formula 1. He's raced against both Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher, putting him in a pretty exclusive club alongside Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, and Nico Hulkenberg. That's a unique vantage point, and Alonso recently shared his thoughts on who was toughest during an interview at the Dutch Grand Prix.

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Here's the thing that might surprise you: despite Verstappen having fewer world championships than Schumacher or Hamilton, Alonso ranks the Red Bull driver as the best competitor he's ever faced. The reason? He genuinely can't find any weaknesses in him. Alonso gave Verstappen a 9.9 out of 10, saying there's probably a final tenth somewhere but he'd be hard pressed to find it. He reckons Verstappen has basically no weak spots anymore, and that's what sets him apart.

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Alonso did point out that young Max made the occasional mistake back when he was 17 or 18, things like driving into the pit lane too fast. But that changed quickly. After his second or third year on the grid, the errors vanished entirely. Since then it's been relentless consistency and performance, raising the bar for everyone else. If you want to beat Verstappen, Alonso says you've simply got to get better yourself.

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The context here matters though. Alonso's actual title battles came against Schumacher, Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel when they were all fighting for championships. By contrast, most of his racing against Verstappen happened from the midfield while driving for McLaren, Alpine, and Aston Martin. So Alonso's watching Verstappen at his absolute peak rather than scrapping with him wheel to wheel for points and trophies. Still, after 436 races in Formula 1, Alonso's opinion on who's the best competitor he's faced carries some serious weight.

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