Fernando Alonso has a reputation for being a hard competitor, which also makes him a very difficult teammate to deal with. Every team he’s driven for, he’s made life tough for his counterpart. But the most iconic inter-team rivalry the Spaniard has endured was in 2007, when rookie Lewis Hamilton joined him at McLaren.
The season was underlined by the torrid yet intense rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton. In the end, Alonso left Woking because he felt that McLaren favored the Brit. It put a pause to the animosity. But if the duo was paired up once again today, would their alliance be as explosive as the one from 17 years ago? Adrian Newey certainly doesn’t think so.
Not working with Hamilton and Alonso are ’emotional regrets’ for Adrian Newey! pic.twitter.com/fqcR0h0qSG
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) September 28, 2023
Newey and F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast host, Tom Clarkson were pondering upon this exact question. “I think Fernando would be different now,” answered Newey. Red Bull’s design genius and the famed F1 journalist, both, agreed that the Spaniard has in fact “mellowed” down with age and experience.
While Alonso may not be prone to his risible antics anymore, it is hard to believe that things would be cordial between the two given their previous and more recent history of on track scuffles.
The most explosive moments of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry in F1
Back in 2007, Hamilton, a rookie, was put up against a two-time reigning world champion in the form of Alonso. Many believed that Alonso would easily get the better of Hamilton. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Hamilton gave Alonso a real run for his money. In fact, he ended up finishing the season level on points with the ex-Renault driver.
With his pride hurt, Alonso wanted Hamilton to know who the number one man in the team was. Famously at the Hungarian GP, Alonso deliberately stalled Hamilton in the pit box during qualifying, to prevent him from getting a faster lap time in. This spoiled the relationship with them beyond repair (seemingly).
Alonso on Hamilton: “Yeah! What an IDIOT! This guy only knows how to start and finish first.” #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/8hGgrHbwqN
— ameya (@ameyaelnino) August 28, 2022
But even after all these years, there was no love lost between Alonso and Hamilton. As recently as the 2022 Belgian GP, Hamilton and Alonso collided into Les Combes on the very first lap of the race which prompted Alonso to call Hamilton an ‘idiot’ and berate him on his radio comms.
Newey, however, with his experience feels things will be different if they were to drive for the same team now. For F1 fans, at least, it will be a very interesting duo.
