Charles Leclerc bites back on Fernando Alonso’s comments stating Mercedes has a bigger basket to score than the rest of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton sensationally won the Sao Paulo Grand Pix this weekend. After all the setbacks, the Briton rose from P20 in the sprint race on Saturday to eventually win the main race on Sunday after starting from the 5th row.
However, Fernando Alonso wasn’t much impressed with it at the end of the day. He pointed out structural problems of F1, as according to him, Hamilton’s astronomical rise throughout the weekend exposed the deficit between the teams.
“As a driver, it’s like playing basketball and there’s one basket for you and one for the others,” Alonso said. “They (Mercedes) score their points with a bigger basket and you have to score yours with a smaller one. So you always lose.”
He added: “I just imagine young children watching this sport and seeing one car pass two others in the straight line. We shouldn’t let them lose hope that they can be champions.”
Fernando Alonso reacts on the fact Hamilton finished 5th today#BrazilGP🇧🇷 #F1 @AlpineF1Team@alo_oficial
pic.twitter.com/UtPJieNPar— F1 Out Of context (@nocontextf1_) November 13, 2021
Also read: Mercedes engineering director says that they are confident they can win both Championships in 2021
Charles Leclerc disagrees
However, Leclerc disregards Alonso’s opinion and claims the credit shall be with the reigning world champion to get the most out of that Mercedes car.
“I don’t agree,” Leclerc said. “Obviously Lewis has a very strong car at the moment, but I think he managed to go beyond what that car could give.”
Leclerc was genuinely amazed by the pace shown by Hamilton this weekend. After Briton’s sprint race performance, Leclerc suggested that the revers-grid concept be adopted to make F1 more interesting.
A validation by one of the prominent members of the grid towards an idea which so far has been opined as “too radical” for F1. Even the Monegasque race driver’s boss Mattia Binotto feels the same.
Also read: Mercedes trackside engineer reveals the secret behind emphatic win of Lewis Hamilton in Brazil
