Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC

After winning the Chinese GP Sprint on Saturday, Max Verstappen grabbed his fifth pole position of the 2024 season in as many races. This was Red Bull’s 100th F1 pole, and it came at the same circuit where they got their first- the Shanghai International Circuit. A lot has changed in F1 and at Red Bull since then, except for one thing and that is Fernando Alonso.

Sebastian Vettel earned Red Bull’s first pole in China in 2009, with Mark Webber, his teammate finishing P3. Fast forward to 2024, it is Sergio Perez who followed Verstappen to secure P2. Both were monumental occasions for the Milton-Keynes-based outfit, and Fernando was top three on both occasions.

In 2009, Alonso was driving for Renault and finished P2 splitting Webber and Vettel in qualifying. Yesterday, he took P3 driving for Aston Martin. Alonso remains a constant in F1, despite all the changes the sport has been through since Red Bull’s first-ever pole position.

Back in 2009, Alonso had a disappointing Chinese GP as he only managed to finish ninth despite qualifying second. The Spaniard will hope that he can deliver a better performance this time around, having seemed comfortable with his Aston Martin AMR24 throughout the weekend.

Fernando Alonso defying old-age criticisms

Alonso, one of F1’s greatest drivers ever, is shutting doubters by performing at the top of his game week in and week out, despite turning 42.

The Oviedo-born driver is showing no signs of slowing down and is oozing confidence having recently signed a contract extension with Aston Martin which will keep him tied to the Silverstone-based outfit until at least 2026.

Alonso made it clear that his goal is to help Aston Martin get to the top. Team principal Mike Krack also revealed that his side will do everything in their potential to help give Alonso a car that is capable of winning races and fighting for the championship.

However, at the moment, they are nowhere close to achieving their goal. Aston Martin is arguably the fifth-fastest side at the moment and Alonso’s best chance of fighting for the championship may come in 2026 when F1 introduces new regulations- only if Aston Martin copes well with them.