Lewis Hamilton brushed off a social media furore over comments made by Fernando Alonso in a recent interview, saying it made him laugh.
Alonso told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf “Max’s titles are worth more than Hamilton’s” and “I have a lot of respect for Lewis but it’s different when you win seven world championships having only had to fight against your team mate.”After the quotes were widely shared on social media, Alonso told his followers he was “tired of the continuous search for headlines.”
Hamilton issued a reaction of his own, sharing an image of himself winning the 2007 United States Grand Prix ahead of then-team mate Alonso, adding a thumbs-up emoji. He said he was amused by his rival’s comments, but tried to treat other champions with respect.
“It does make me giggle a little bit to be honest,” Hamilton said in yesterday’s press conference. “But I have tried to be really respectful over the years.
“For example, when you’ve ever asked me about who has been the better driver for me I’ve always tried to give praise. It’s definitely interesting to see the comments that are made, but it doesn’t really matter. So that’s why I just kind of put the thumbs up.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff downplayed Alonso’s comments and said they had no effect on his driver. “He’s a teaser,” said Wolff. “It’s comedy and this creates headlines and the sport is about headlines.
“They’re great champions and Alonso likes to throw one in. I don’t think it’s bothering Lewis a millimetre.”
Alonso believes the reportage of his comments had generated too much antagonism on social media. “I think we all try to help and make social media a better place and we need to all collaborate on that,” he said. “We need to stop pitting the fans against each other. We are all in the same and great champions, great sportsmen, and we try to enjoy this beautiful time.”
Asked after the race for his opinion on Max Verstappen’s record-breaking 14th career win, Alonso said: “I don’t speak any more about anyone else because I think it’s just misunderstanding always. So, you know, very good for him.”
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Edvaldo
31st October 2022, 12:36
To Alonso, the title is worth more if the runner-up isn’t your team mate.
The guy who lost one year by a whopping 150 points, but in his head, it was an intense battle lol
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
31st October 2022, 12:48
Hamilton – 11 wins in a season despite driving cars 1s/lap faster than his rivals with almost bulletproof reliability, 413 points the best score
Max – 14 wins in 20 races with 2 DNFs and 2 grand prix still to go, despite driving car which is slower than Ferrari (as proved by quali results) or at best equal, already 416 points scored
Alonso is absolutely right. Do you remember how Hamilton barely beat Massa in 2008? I know McLaren was slower than Ferrari, but still Hamilton made mistakes in 8 out of 18 races. Compare it to unreal consistency by Max these last 2 years and it’s night and day difference.
Edvaldo
31st October 2022, 13:05
You’re comparing a 2nd year Hamilton with a EIGHT YEARS in Verstappen ?
You’re no Armchair Expert, you’re an Armchair Noob.
Change that name, quick.
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
31st October 2022, 15:45
I’m comparing driver in his 7th season of single seater racing, who barely beat second rate driver like Massa to the title, making tons of mistakes along the way to somebody who in his 3rd season of racing (Hamilton in his 3rd finished 5th in Formula 3) won a Grand Prix in his first race in that particular car. Ever since Max learned all the F1 ropes needed mid-2018, he’s virtually unbeatable, delivering results with consistency we have never seen before.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 16:01
I note you’re strangely mute about the 2017 or 2018 seasons, when the Ferrari was as good. Or put another way if the Max or Lewis of today were in the seat would have been Mercedes.
No mention of 2010, when in a dog of a car compared to the RB and Ferrari – he somehow managed to be in contention on the last race of the season. Do you think that’s why he won most peoples Driver of the Season and Alonso constantly saw him as more or a threat than Seb?
You see in order to be a very good WUM you’ve got to have a good memory, not just a lazy one like yours that recalls facts to suit your bias.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 15:55
LOL!!
Moshambles (@moshambles)
2nd November 2022, 9:27
I wouldn’t bother replying to this guy. He’s either a troll or has some problems. All he does is make the same comments over and over and in unrelated articles. It’s pointless to interact and could be harmful. If he’s not well, I wish him the best
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
31st October 2022, 13:09
In 2019 as I recall Mercedes did have competition from Ferrari and HRBR. Would Ferrari have won 3 GPs without the dodgy engine? But it does look like Hamilton would of perhaps only made it 12 wins.
Qualifying results are not and you know it a measure of race pace. Russell got a pole position in Hungary that made it no where near the best car in the GP.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
31st October 2022, 13:15
Where Mb were a 1-2 and Valtteri came first they could have asked him to move over for Hamilton and added another 3 wins.
Scott
1st November 2022, 4:04
Uhh…
They did do that on many occasion over the years
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:50
Even with the dodgy engine merc was by far the best car! Ferrari, if you recall, should’ve won more than 3 races, bahrain for example, canada, perhaps more.
Raqua (@raqua)
31st October 2022, 13:14
In which alternate universe is Ferrari faster than Red Bull ? Last time I checked, races were not 1 lap long …
MG1982 (@mg1982)
31st October 2022, 13:26
I’m not (never was) a HAM fan in particular, but you’re obviously exagerrating. 2018 was just his 2nd year in F1, 2022 is VER’s 7th year in F1. I remember even now that in 2017, when he made his debut in F1, HAM executed by far the best debut year in F1 I’ve ever seen. Truth is, HAM so good in 2017 that he destroyed ALO’s plans with McLaren and made him move for 2018. HAM was supposed to be slower, clumsier etc, just a lieutenant in his debut years… as it happens in 99% of the cases. When you think about it, if it wasn’t for him, ALO would have been WDC in 2017 and 2018 too, so now the stats should have been like zero WDC for Raikkonen, 6 WDCs for HAM. VER, on the other hand, was a little disaster in his first 4 years or so, destroying many races for the WDC competitors.
Nicu
31st October 2022, 14:00
Ham debut year was 2007, you need to subtract 10 years …
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:52
It’s a typo, he clearly means 2008 instead of 2018.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:52
Oh, I see now, looks like he mispelled every single year in the comment!
Scott
1st November 2022, 4:11
WHat in theeee hail are your talking about?
Hamilton was 10 years into f1 in 2017
2007?
This great debut?
You kidding me…
McLaren ahd Ron Dennis were on top again and he got a nice shiny fast ride as a rookie.
Max has done significantly more with less.
Moreover he’s the best talent since Senna and people need to appreciate what he’s doing as this kind if talent comes around once every 30 -40 years
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
31st October 2022, 14:01
@armchairexpert I think you’ve overcooked the stamppot
hyoko
31st October 2022, 14:11
Beat Massa in 2008. Barely.
And has the Crashgate to thank for it.
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 15:40
2008 wasn’t Hamilton’s best year and one could argue Massa needed Spa gate to stay in contention. I would rate Lewis’s 2008 above Max’s 2021 though. 2008 was more competitive. Even Kubica and the then reigning WDC, Kimi Raik, was in the title mix at various stages.
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
31st October 2022, 16:00
In 2008 Hamilton:
-blocked cars on their fast laps in qualifying in Malaysia, earning grid penalty
-made awful start in Bahrain and drove into the back of Alonso’s Renault
-crashed into barriers in Monaco, which ironically put him on the winning strategy
-crashed into the back of Raikkonen’s Ferrari in the pitlane in Canada, earning grid penalty for France
-overtook Vettel’s Toro Rosso off the track in France, earning drive through penalty
-spun on lap 2 in Belgium, which put him behind Raikkonen and then cut the chicane chasing Ferrari, earning yet another penalty
-started P15 in Italy, while his team mate Kovalainen put the same car in P2
-divebombed Raikkonen at the start in Japan, lost many places which put him into vulnerable position to Massa, who spun Hamilton around showing abysmal racecraft
And all of this is better than Max’s 2021, whose only mistake was the first race in Bahrain and losing P1 to Hamilton? Are we watching the same sport or is your memory so terrible you don’t remember what happened even last year?
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 16:03
I’m not certain why you keep comparing 2008 Lewis to 2021 Max. The latter was way more experienced than the former. I’d expect errors in someones second season, as we saw plenty of Max in his.
Another lazy comparison that does nothing but show you up.
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 16:09
Max, 2021
Brake tested Lewis in Saudi Arabia
Crashed into Lewis Monza
Botched his overtake in Bahrain
Crashed in Saudi Qualifying
Ruined his tyres, got mugged of the line (at the start race in AD)
Penalty for ignoring double yellows in Qatar
Penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in Saudi Arabi
etc etc etc
Yes, i rate 2008 better because Lewis was also fighting Kimi and the BMWs for a good proportion of the season. Also, the blatant rule bending by Masi behind the sc in AD really, really taints 2021. Cost cap too.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 15:57
Another person who delights in denigrating Hamilton. Explain how crashgate helped him get the 2008 Championship?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:55
I thought that was common knowledge: massa wouldn’t have had the fuel hose issue without the SC stop that the crashgate triggered and would’ve had enough points for title.
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 17:53
(@esploratore1)
That’s on Ferrari. All other teams managed to pit without bungling the fuel hose. It was Ferrari that made error with the fuel hose, not the race director, not McLaren, not the stewards, not Renault. Ferrari were ultimately responsible. And we can’t know for sure how that race would have panned out had Renault not done what they did. Even assuming Massa finished P1 in Singapore, Hamilton was on course for P2. Hence, scores after a “crashgateless” Singapore is Massa 87, Hamilton 86. Secondly, one can’t assume all would have played out the same in the remaining 3 races, if there had been no crash in Singapore. If Hamilton was trailing to Massa in points, McLaren would have changed their approach. For instance, they may have gone for a more aggressive strategy in Brazil if they had a points deficit rather than a points advantage. McLaren simply played things according to the demands of the points spread at the time.
MarkButNotaShark
31st October 2022, 20:04
Good thing Massa spent all of Silverstone pirouetting as Hamilton lapped him. too.
Lewis did what he needed to, and barely won.
Massa was screwed by crashgate, and the fuel hose. Both not his fault. Glock, not his fault.
The points he left on the table at Silverstone?
1000% all him.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:49
There’s a thing which is absolutely nonsensical here, and that is calling the ferrari the fastest car: points are given in the race, and leclerc is a qualifying master, verstappen is a race master, they’re still great drivers at anything they do, but you can see leclerc like senna and verstappen like prost, I don’t really think verstappen would’ve got as many poles with ferrari.
Red bull is miles ahead of ferrari post spa, and verstappen made a few mistakes too this year.
ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
31st October 2022, 12:57
None of what Alonso said was remotely controversial unless you add the misleading headlines. Then fuel to the fire when Hamilton predictibly jumps at the opportunity to (1) be a victim so he can then (2) talk about overcoming the threat.
As for Schumacher and Hamilton’s titles, they aren’t a the same. But most fans would a solidly agree that 2008 was much more exciting and impressive than 2019 or 2020, or 2014-2015. Or that 2003 was much more exciting and impressive than 2001, 2002, or 2004.
It’s fairly obvious, and Alonso was making a fairly obvious point. Probably stated a bit clumsily, but the headlines were ridiculous
anon
31st October 2022, 13:28
…then why did Alonso eat his words?
if it was clumsily stated, he’d reiterate with better wording, he didn’t, he ate. his. words.
SHR Modding
31st October 2022, 15:14
He ate his words to look better in the press. Its pretty clear from seeing alonso all these years that he still thinks what he said is true
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 16:04
Alonso could give a flying fig about what the press say.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 16:06
or rather “couldn’t” !!
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 15:47
Alonso knew what he was doing. It’s been going on for a while now. There’s been a constant drip of comments diminishing Hamilton. Now he’s also moved onto Michael Schumacher.
Alonso has zero class and none of what he says makes sense. For instance, Max has a dominant car this season with no internal or external competition, yet we are somehow suppose to value Max’s 2022 title above Schumacher’s and Hamilton’s? Give me a break.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 16:58
True, with the season almost finishing on average this car can be considered like the 2019 merc or the 2001 ferrari, not super dominant but enough.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
31st October 2022, 13:29
Oh, get a room you two!
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
31st October 2022, 13:55
I’d cut Alonso a bit of slack. He’s a phenomenal driver and he has deserved a better seat ever since he switched to McLaren. He wants to perform and show his stuff to the world. Unlike soccer where you can do that on almost any team, you can’t do that in F1.
He should not be happy and no one really wants a happy Alonso.:-)
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 15:50
Why should we give a 40 odd year-old driver slack for running his mouth off about the sports 2 most successful drivers? (SCH and Ham)
slowmo (@slowmo)
31st October 2022, 16:50
To be fair Alonso burned all the bridges on his own. He made his bed and now has to lie in it. There is more to F1 than driving a car in a circle.
greasemonkey
31st October 2022, 14:07
The problem with F1 is that you can never know who would beat who in any given year except teammates. The problem with racing in general, given that the machines are always, by necessity, pushing the limits too, is that judging closely matched teammates will also be uncertain. Actually…not a problem. A feature. Senna vs Prost (at McLaren) is a great debate, much like the Hamilton v Alonso one (also at McLaren), and will always stay that way, because of the built in uncertainty of racing itself.
So quotes by drivers like that one are either just silly, or poking fun. Alonso is rather intelligent, so I’m guessing he is just throwing little bombs on purpose for the fun of it.
Also, humans vary. Day to day. And racing varies, track to track, car to car. The better driver in combo A might be the lesser driver in combo B. Even a switch of tires, in the same season, on the same team, can invert teammates. (Late season 2009, after the tire switch, Rubens was generally better than Button, even though Button dominated on the first spec of tires. Enough to win DC. Button’s smoothness worked better on the tires that lit up easier. Rubens style lit up the harder to heat tires of the later season)
Simon (@simon999)
31st October 2022, 14:07
Lewis and Max are pretty even, ability wise. They are two of the best ever.
When people talk about Max winning more races during a season in a less dominant car than some of the Merc cars from a few years back, they tend not to account for the fact Max has a team mate who tends to be well down on pace. Rosberg and Bottas both provided significantly more of a challenge to Lewis, than Perez to Max. It means that when RB has a car capable of finishing 10+ seconds ahead of others, there’s only one serious contender.
LeClerc did pose something of a challenge at the start of the season, but even then the biggest factors were Max’s reliability and LeClerc’s errors.
I do think Max tends to be a little more consistent than Lewis, but Mercedes have always been setup to allow both drivers to compete equally and tended to hire drivers who are both capable of doing so. 3 or 4 races won by a team mate, whilst not a lot over a season, makes the difference when looking at record wins per season.
Edvaldo
31st October 2022, 15:02
Red Bull is a top team who had huge troubles finding a number 2 driver capable of at least bringing some points.
Is that because there are no drivers or because they are so deep in catering to Verstappen that others barely can drive it?
So not only can he benefit of Newey’s excellent designs, they are made for his style.
And when there’s the rare chance of fighting, “no fighting” is immediatelly asked for the number 2, even if it’s clear he’s so much faster he would breeze past anyway. They can’t give not even that for the number 2.
So it’s obvious he’s gonna break some records. He drives one of the greatest cars and is the absolute main focus of the team, just like the former holders of the record. That’s the easiest way to make history in F1.
A M (@amam)
31st October 2022, 15:54
The only driver who was ever allowed to freely compete at RB was Ricciardo, and he ended up beating Max 2-1. Ricciardo left when Horner said they were to build the team around Max
At the start of this season, Perez was nearly matching Max, but then car development moved towards Max.
The whole team is focused purely on Max. I’d like to see Max perform in a team where both teammates get equal billing/focus
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 17:03
The thing is, verstappen was still young in 2016 and wasn’t at peak yet, that made ricciardo look better; by 2018 he couldn’t keep up any more speed wise, and even in 2017 he only really had his own low crashing rate over verstappen.
AlanD
1st November 2022, 0:12
AM, I”ve heard people say before that Red Bull’s car development has moved towards Max to the detriment of Perez, and I’d be interested to know specifics of what people think that is. One reason development can seemingly favour one driver over another is that one driver might be better at explaining to the engineers what is needed to make the car go faster, which naturally means it will favour their driving style. Linked to that, some drivers are just better at evolving their driving style to suit the evolution of the machinery. I suspect that this is the case with Max and Checo. Max has learnt how to adapt to the 2022 car.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
31st October 2022, 16:05
Great post. And spot on.
zeus_m3
1st November 2022, 2:18
But and Per are really close in pace.
Ham on average beats But by 0.1 sec, while Ver can beat Per by 0.3 sec.
Similar conclusion can be drawn when comparing Alb vs. Rus.
Younger generation ace is always better in term of absolute ability.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
31st October 2022, 14:39
Alonso will always dislike Hamilton, Lewis indirectly ruined Fernando’s career.
He was top of the world in 2007, two championships on the bounce and joining the then best team. But it’s all gone downhill since then, the highlights being him being the almost man in 2010 and 2012.
Phenomenal driver who “deserved” so much more than he got, but sadly that’s how it goes sometimes.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 17:05
Well, landing on ferrari in 2010 wasn’t a bad move on paper, he’s been unlucky that these really strong teams emerged in that decade (red bull and merc) that basically didn’t leave anything for anyone else, I don’t think alonso was ever in the running for red bull or merc, at least once it was clear they were really strong teams.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st October 2022, 17:06
Ferrari themselves aren’t winning a title now since 14 years and they were still the 3rd best car overall since alonso first went there.
M
1st November 2022, 10:14
Indeed, he sees Lewis as having had his career.
In the corner of his mind Alonso sees himself as an 11x WDC – if it was not for that impudent pup.
OOliver
31st October 2022, 17:21
The fans can control themselves if they are not mature enough to handle social media then they should be deprived of it. Social media mobs are the new threat to a relaxed family dinner.
Wayne
1st November 2022, 7:53
So alonso rates last years championship that was given to max more highky than any of lewis championships? Max did not beat lewis on his own. He had help from Perez that was sacrificed to stop or slow lewis down. Max also had help from alhpa tauri with same overly defensive moves against lewis. Max had no competition from Perez. And to top it all off the stewarda and fia seems to have wanted max to beat Lewis by the sheer breaking/ bending of the rules on multiple occasion to favor max. Alonso is a disgruntled, unhappy, jealous driver who was beaten by lewis in the same car. Might i add Lewis was a rookie. Alonso double world champion.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
1st November 2022, 11:05
Being that it was a dutch newspaper, I’m betting they did twist what he said, even considering Alonso’s record of headline grabbing comments. But I also don’t think he’s wrong. You can’t deny 2014 and 2015 were extremely easy to Lewis, he really only had to beat Rosberg. You don’t need to go into detail to understand that. I rate 2008 much higher
Wayne
1st November 2022, 11:11
Rosberg beat shumacher in same car. Rosberg is being underrated to devalue Lewis performance. People always seem to try their utmost best to devalue Lewis achievements. Wonder why? And same people fi d it very easy to say max is on the same level or better than lewis. Etc etc. Wonder why? But we know why… Its just that peolle wont admit what they trully feel.
Teri2
1st November 2022, 11:38
The really valuable championships for Alonso are the ones you win against a rival driver whose car has been dismantled in order to prevent him winning a 6th and 7th WDC in a row.
David BR (@david-br)
1st November 2022, 14:21
Says the 2x champ who was beaten by a rookie and never recovered.
The Hamilton versus Verstappen debate could run endlessly, as could throwing Senna or Schumacher in the mix, no doubt: these rivalries, real or virtual, will continue to be the source of arguments as long as Formula 1 continues. But Fernando, excellent though he is, will only ever be remembered as a second-tier champion. Some dignity, please FA.