Adrian Newey Believes Fernando Alonso, After 17 Years, Would Be a Different Teammate to Lewis Hamilton

Adrian Newey Believes Fernando Alonso, After 17 Years, Would Be a Different Teammate to Lewis Hamilton

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.

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).

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.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

Don’t miss these