Both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had spent time on the F1 grid with utter dominance. The Spaniard dominated the grid while driving for Renault. He was a two-time champion before Lewis Hamilton burst onto the scene. Both Alonso and Hamilton were teammates in the McLaren team in the Briton’s rookie season. But Lewis Hamilton went on to have arguably the greatest rookie season in F1 history in 2007. Moreover, in his sophomore season in F1 in 2008, Hamilton actually won his maiden title, narrowly beating Felipe Massa. Very soon, Alonso went back to Renault from McLaren.
Lately, Fernando Alonso criticized the idea of F1 drivers dominating the grid. Moreover, Alonso feels it depends on the certain regulation changes that allow a certain team to gain hegemony. For instance, the turbo-hybrid engines worked miracles for Mercedes. Similarly, the current cost cap era is seeing Red Bull getting back dominance after 2013. Recently, in an interview with The Telegraph, Fernando Alonso mentioned that he does not understand when drivers say they are going to build a team around themselves.
Fernando Alonso Discredits Lewis Hamilton And Max Verstappen’s Success!
Moreover, the Spaniard believes F1 is a sport where the technical decisions and regulations play the most essential factors. Alonso added that Hamilton did not build anything in Mercedes in the turbo-hybrid era. Instead, it was the change in regulation that worked in their favor. Moreover, the regulation change built everything for the seven-time champion. Like it is building for Max Verstappen at present. The Spaniard pointed out that both Max and Lewis had a close fight in 2021. But when Verstappen joined Torro Rosso, and later in the senior team, Hamilton was still winning everything.
Things started changing in 2021 after the introduction of the ground effect rules. Hence, Fernando Alonso elucidated his stance on the view that neither Hamilton nor Verstappen built a championship-winning team around them. In fact, the regulations made a real difference. At the end of the day, Alonso feels as a driver, one can only expect to be at the right place at the right time. And the driver will start winning everything. Like Max Verstappen is doing at the moment. The Dutchman has won 37 races in the last two and a half years. He is on his way to win his third title in a row.
Spaniard Remains A Two-Time Champion, While Hamilton Won Seven & Verstappen On His Way To Third
As popular rumor suggests, the Alonso-Hamilton combination in McLaren did not last long due to a battle of egos. But Fernando Alonso did not win any more titles with any other teams. However, Alonso moving to Aston Martin from Alpine has worked well for the driver. Currently, Alonso is fourth on the Driver’s Championship standings. But he remains a two-time champion. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2013, and the rest is history.
The Briton won six titles with the German team, adding to his maiden title with McLaren. Hence, Hamilton equaled the German great Michael Schumacher. From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes dominated the whole turbo-hybrid era. However, from 2022, the rivals of the Brackley team, Red Bull, is enjoying an utter dominance. The 2023 season is not yet over, but already Red Bull has won 31 races since last year.
