Fernando Alonso has pointed the finger at McLaren, stating that the team were to blame for the breakdown of his relationship with Lewis Hamilton while they were team-mates in 2007.
The two time world champion has stated that the pair had “no issues” with each other in an interview with Sky Sports F1.
He joined Hamilton in 2007 at McLaren having left Renault with two world championships. It was Hamilton’s debut year in Formula One, with Alonso being his first team mate. Their relationship was very strained from the get go, with the Spaniard seemingly frustrated with McLaren’s favouritism towards the rookie, and the rivalry between the pair on track was electric to say the least. Both tipped to fight for a world championship in 2007, sadly neither of them claimed the crown. Kimi Raikkonen took the championship in his Ferrari by just one point over Hamilton and Alonso, who, despite finishing on the same number of points as his team mate, claimed third.
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Alonso left the Woking squad at the end of the 2007 season and would go back to Renault for two years before signing for Ferrari. Hamilton on the other hand, stayed with McLaren, winning his first world title in 2008. Alonso, known for his out spoken opinions and strong views, has admitted that his frustrations lay with McLaren at the time, not Hamilton.
“Lewis came into Formula 1 like a tsunami,” he stated. “With all his talent, all his abilities and results immediately. That was intense and that was also challenging for everybody. Looking back, and I think Lewis will feel the same, we had no issues between us, no problems, we had a very tough competition, but fair,”
“Honestly, I think, and probably he agrees, the team didn’t handle the situation,” he continued. “I don’t want to blame Ron (Dennis), I don’t want to blame any particular name, but as a team and management we were too young, we were too ambitious and nobody guided us in a way.”
After taking a two year absence from the sport, Alonso returned this year to the Alpine team, formerly known as Renault. He clearly feels at home with this team, as this will be his third stint with French outfit where he won his two championships.
Headline Image: Lewis Hamilton via Instagram