Fernando Alonso has denied wanting to play any part in this year's title fight, or that he'd prefer to see Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the World Championship. Red Bull's Helmut Marko suggested that Alonso could be a key factor in the Turkish Grand Prix , as the Spaniard started in front of Lewis Hamilton on the grid. Marko said that Alonso "is not a big Hamilton fan", and may defend strenuously against the recovering Mercedes, as he did so effectively at the Hungarian Grand Prix. But Alonso denied that he has any favourites in the title hunt. "I'm not a friend of anyone!" Alonso smiled when speaking to media, including RacingNews365.com , after Sunday's race at Istanbul Park. "[Mercedes boss] Toto [Wolff] will say the same thing if it was the opposite. "We do our own race. We saw this year that the pace of Mercedes and Red Bull, they are unstoppable. "It was a topic in Hungary, because the circuit allowed you to defend a little bit more, but in a normal circuit, we saw [Valtteri] Bottas in Monza started last, finished on the podium. Even the Ferraris sometimes, [Charles] Leclerc started last in Sochi or Carlos [Sainz] here [in Turkey], they passed by without any possible defence. "I think they [Red Bull] will have to fight for the championship in their own power." Asked whether he enjoys fighting with Hamilton in particular, given their history as teammates and the Hungary battle, Alonso said he hadn't got any particular preference. "It was a coincidence of being in Hungary," he commented. "But no, I like to fight with all of them, especially if they're a top champion. Max and Lewis, I'm enjoying, but even when you are behind them in the middle of a pack with George [Russell], [Antonio] Giovinazzi, Mick [Schumacher]... still great fights and quite a lot of respect, so it's all the same."
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