During the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Fernando Alonso slammed Lewis Hamilton by pointing out the 7x champion’s “weaknesses” in a “normal car”. But in his latest comments, Alonso has contradicted himself by praising his arch-rival and labeling him as “a very tough competitor.”
Ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, Alonso described (as quoted by race fans) Hamilton as “a legend of our sport” and revealed that he is enjoying the current battles with his nemesis. The rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton has reignited following Aston Martin’s significant improvement and Mercedes’ significant deterioration.
Furthermore, the 41-year-old racer went on to say that Hamilton has “no weak points, he does no mistakes. He’s a very tough competitor. To beat him, you need always something special. So this is the type of guy that you want to challenge.”
That Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton battle was something else! 😅#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/toeObV31Jx
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2022
Fernando Alonso draws parallels between Hamilton and Max Verstappen
With Red Bull ace Max Verstappen being the driver to look out for, Alonso is eager to take his fight to the Dutchman as well. The reigning champion has proven himself as the dominant force on the track as he has won 2 of the last three races.
Speaking about Verstappen, the Aston Martin driver said, similar to Hamilton, Verstappen at the moment seems unbreakable with the fast Red Bull car. On top of that, the Dutchman does not make any mistakes. “So one day, you will like to fight him,” said Alonso.
The Spaniard also explained that alike Hamilton it is very hard to see any weaknesses in Verstappen’s driving at the moment. “You need a special weekend to beat them and this is what really motivates everyone,” he further added.
Alonso reckons Baku brings ‘opportunities for big mistakes’
Baku City Circuit features a mix of twisty lanes and narrow tracks and when combined with the new Sprint format, Alonso thinks the top teams are in danger of making a big mistake. The Spaniard explained that in Q3, the drivers optimize the lap because they all get proper practice, but in Q1 the room for mistakes is bigger and it could cost the teams terribly on the Baku Circuit.
As quoted by Motorsport, Alonso said, “When you have a competitive car, there are only things to lose in a different format or in a wet race or wet qualifying or whatever, there are only things to lose. So that’s the difficulty of the difference that I find now compared to the previous years.”
Moreover, the 2-time world champion explained that beating Red Bull at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix would only be possible if Red Bull itself makes some mistake. He is wary that Aston Martin will approach the upcoming weekend cautiously even if it lands them to lower point finishes.
