Fernando Alonso: Why Lewis Hamilton sees former teammate as most formidable F1 rival

“We had some good fights. I wish we could have done more. I hope he keeps racing. I hope more in the future.” Fernando Alonso has agreed a shocking multi-year deal with Aston Martin since Lewis Hamilton’s comments

Lewis Hamilton believes Fernando Alonso is the toughest rival of his Formula 1 career, “with pure pace” and the Spaniard has described his former teammate as a “legend”.

Hamilton and Alonso have enjoyed an illustrious career together, with nine titles and 135 wins in 650 starts, but their journeys were intertwined in 2007, when they were infamous for fighting as McLaren teammates. was

That rivalry became so intense that Alonso left the team after one season, but their respect for each other grew with each passing year, with Hamilton, 37, making Alonso, 41, one of his most talented competitors. I chose you as my opponent.

“I remember working side by side with Fernando when I was 22,” Hamilton recalled ahead of last month’s 300th race.

“I was very young mentally, and of course I was OK with my skills, but it’s a lot of pressure to play against a great player like him.

“So I guess I’ll say it at a pure pace…I always say [my toughest opponent] Fernando and his abilities.

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Lewis Hamilton says he is very excited about the second half of the season after finishing second at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“We had a good battle. I wish we had a better battle and I hope he keeps racing and I hope he has many more battles to come.”

Since Hamilton’s comments, Alonso has secured his F1 future for a few more seasons by making a surprise move from Alpine to Aston Martin in 2023.

Asked how Hamilton has evolved over the years, Alonso said “not much has changed”, but also chose the right team at Mercedes to become F1’s most successful star. said he added experience to his talent.

“He already had talent in 2007 and he still has that talent with experience. He’s a tremendous driver and a legend in our sport,” said Alonso.

“So it was always a pleasure to share this time with him and at the time no one would have thought anyone could win seven titles as Michael.” [Schumacher].

“But yeah, it’s been a great trip and the team they’ve built at Mercedes over the last few years, he stands out.”

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Former F1 driver Felipe Massa has been surprised by Fernando Alonso’s “strange” decision to join Aston Martin next season.

Why didn’t Alonso stay with Alpine for 2023?

Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer has said contractual issues were the reason for Alonso’s shock move to Aston Martin in 2023.

Szafnauer said Alpine had offered Alonso a contract extension.

“We offered a one-plus-one deal, and we had a discussion with Fernando: ‘If you are performing at the same level at this point next year, of course we will take you and it will continue. It must be,’ he said.

“But I think he wanted more certainty, independent of performance. ‘I want to stay longer.'” I think it was the crux of the era, not years or three years, but a year plus a year. “

Aston Martin is currently fifth in the F1 rankings, 79 points behind Alpine.