Untelevised Max Verstappen ‘wave’ moment with Fernando Alonso unearthed

Untelevised footage has emerged of Max Verstappen waving at Fernando Alonso as he completed a pass on the Aston Martin driver during the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Verstappen was hit with a 10-place grid penalty in Belgium for exceeding his engine allocation for the F1 2024 season, with the Red Bull driver starting from 11th on the grid after setting the fastest time in qualifying.

Max Verstappen caught waving at Fernando Alonso during Belgian Grand Prix

A spirited recovery drive saw the reigning World Champion come home fifth on the road, with Verstappen promoted to fourth in the official results after George Russell’s Mercedes was disqualified for being underweight.

It means Verstappen has entered F1’s annual summer break with a 78-point lead over McLaren driver Lando Norris, with the 26-year-old highly likely to secure a fourth consecutive World Championship across the remaining 10 races of 2024.

Onboard footage from Verstappen’s car has revealed the moment he gave a cheeky wave to two-time title winner Alonso in the early stages of his recovery at Spa.

F1 legends: Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso statistics

👉 F1 race wins: Which drivers have the highest win totals in F1 history?

👉 F1 points all-time rankings: Where do Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso feature?

Having been informed by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, that he would have the use of DRS on Alonso on the exit of La Source, Verstappen followed Alonso’s slipstream through the legendary Eau Rouge corner before drawing his car alongside the Aston Martin man on the Kemmel straight.

As he completed the pass on Alonso’s right, Verstappen turns his head slightly to the left and waves at his fellow World Champion before continuing with the next stage of his recovery drive.

The gesture was interpreted by some as a taunt but Verstappen and Alonso are actually known to have a respectful relationship, with the latter often praising the Red Bull man’s achievements over recent years.

Appearing in a documentary by DAZN Spain earlier this year, Alonso revealed that he sees “a lot of similarities” between himself and Verstappen, believing them both to share a love of the purity of motor racing.

He said: “Verstappen was maybe a bit crazier in his early days and had some incidents and some problems, but now he is a very decent driver on the track.

“Off the track, I see a lot of similarities between him and me. We have the same interests, we love racing. We like the sport more than the show.

“We go to the track in the team’s clothes, race on Saturday and on Sunday we go home. And when we have some free time, we go racing. We like simple things and racing.

“That is what I like most about Max and despite his world titles, he has not changed in that [respect].”

Earlier this season, meanwhile, Verstappen included Alonso in his list of the five greatest drivers in F1 history alongside Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio.

He told DAZN: “I think Fernando always shows himself as he is, which is something I admire a lot.

“Despite the success he has had, he is still a normal, nice guy. He was also the first Spaniard to be successful in Formula 1 and become World Champion. I have a lot of respect for him.

“I remember when I was in go-karting watching him in Formula 1 and he was always the driver that I was like: ‘Yeah, he can race.’

“That’s something as a fan you turn on the TV for.”

Verstappen and Alonso have shared the podium nine times in F1, with the most recent occasion coming at last season’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

Read next: Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo stay: Conclusions from shock Red Bull decision