“We were young and immature,” Fernando Alonso reveals his true feelings on a reunion with Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso reveals it would be nice to end his career as Lewis Hamilton's teammate.
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Lewis Hamilton & Fernando Alonso (Image via Daily Star)
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were teammates back in 2007. Sixteen years ago, a two-time F1 world champion Alonso moved from Renault to McLaren. The reigning world champion was paired with an F1 rookie, Lewis Hamilton. The duo had one of the fastest cars of the year and were title contenders from the start of the season. However, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen won the championship that season, scoring just one point more than Alonso and Hamilton. The duo shared one of the most entertaining and aggressive rivalries in F1.
It is a well-known fact that Alonso and Hamilton did not get along very well back then. Both their team staff sat on the other side of the McLaren paddock. Their rivalry was unmatched. And later that year, McLaren lost all their points for the constructor’s championship due to the controversial “Spygate”. Despite the fight between Alonso and Hamilton along with occasional tussles over the years, the Spaniard is open to a reunion with his fellow rival.
Fernando Alonso said when asked about a potential team-up, “It would be nice to end our careers together. I would love that.” He further stated, “We consider the other as a talented driver and one of the strongest competitors we have ever encountered. The situation that season was not well managed by our bosses. We were young and immature. We needed help from management, but we got it not. We are different now than we were then.”
Related: George Russell believes his F1 career is ‘worthless’ without a championship
Fernando Alonso says there is mutual respect between him and his rival, Lewis Hamilton
The 41-year-old spoke about the respect between him and Hamilton. “We had a difficult season then. But we respected what the other did on track and still do”. Fernando Alonso returned to Renault after leaving McLaren. He revealed that he could not continue with the team. The current Aston Martin driver accused McLaren of focusing on only one side of the garage back then.
Alonso opened up on what team boss Ron Dennis said after the second last race in China, “Our battle is not with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa but with Fernando.” The two-time world champion admitted he could not continue with McLaren due to these events but learned his lessons. Fast Forward to the 2023 season, Alonso and Hamilton are still racing against each other.
After years of drought, Alonso has won three consecutive podiums. There is heavy competition between him and Hamilton, but the respect remains. The duo had an epic battle in the Australian GP. Aston Martin has cracked the code and provided Alonso with a good and efficient package. The 2023 F1 season is in due for more battles between the two rivals. However, Mercedes is behind Aston Martin at the moment. Things will undoubtedly get spicy once they bring the updates.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)