Midweek Wrap: Alonso, Max, GP 1000... and a whiff of grapefruit?

The first GP-less week for the mid-week wrap, thankfully there's still plenty of topics to discuss, so let's get to it:

Alonso Toots His Own Horn: Well, this one really blew up, didn't it? 200 comments and counting, I read it as a by-product of the enormous self-belief all elite-level sportsmen have to have, but I suppose it's the sort of mark that is always going to annoy his detractors. In any case, is Alonso actually wrong here? Obviously he doesn't have as many F1 titles as Lewis Hamilton – and when it comes to that particular category, I don't think there's a doubt Hamilton is

greater – but if we're just talking about the guy who can best drive the wheels off whatever he gets in, then the surely deserves consideration.

Possesses a level of self-belief all great drivers have to have, and if that leads him to share such an opinion than so be it. Of course, Lewis Hamilton certainly has as strong of a case, but there's no denying Alonso's adaptability.

Hard to delineate between greatness and ability in these conversations – who's to say what Alonso would've done in the Mercedes, but the fact it Hamilton has five titles at that puts him above the Spaniard in the F1 pantheon. That said, if he continues to clean up in other forms of racing, his case can't be dismissed either

Cracks Starting to Show at Red Bull? Whichever way you cut it, it's an interesting time at Red Bull, with rocks being kicked up around both driver and car in their garage. According to Helmut Marko, Toto Wolff calls Max Verstappen "repeatedly" with an eye to luring the young star to Mercedes in the near future, and it certainly doesn't help matters when Adrian Newey comes out and admits his current car simply isn't good enough.

With that in mind, it really is a curious position Verstappen finds himself in. As the "next" Schumi or Hamilton, he will undoubtedly be the biggest star of the sport for the next decade wherever he drives, but there is legitimate reason for impatience given this is now his fifth F1 season, and he is already trailing those two based on years-to-first-title, even if he's still younger than they were at the time. For a man with his sights on the record books, that has to grind a little, and would definitely cause some agitation in the Red Bull camp.

Best. Headline. Ever. Shut it down, folks, the competition for best headline of 2019 is already over, courtesy of Christian Horner and his particularly sharp nose. In all seriousness, I'm not sure exactly what to take away from this – Ferrari could be cheating, yes, but it's not breaking news that they have their own fuel mix, and if it smells a bit fruity, well, there's not much that can be done about that.

Time to Celebrate the 1000^th F1 GP… or is it? One of those "controversies" that is as fun to get worked up about as it is ultimately pointless, it seems almost no one is happy with F1/Liberty labelling this weekend's race the 1000^th Grand Prix. Depending on who you ask, the problem is that they've included races not run to F1 regulations, excluded "championship" events in other years, or just forgot to remove the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP from the record – that last one a special request of Fernando Alonso. In any case, if you're looking for a figure more specific to the number on F1