Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have been involved in a rather ugly feud. This is not the first time the duo has been entangled in a public spat. Previously, Alonso went on a rampage rant against Hamilton, after the Briton collided with the Spaniard in the opening lap of the Belgian GP.
Now, the Alpine driver’s claims of Max Verstappen’s titles meaning more than Hamilton’s is supported by a former F1 double world champion.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The Spanish driver has had a rollercoaster season with Alpine so far. In another unfortunate incident, Alonso had to retire from the Mexican GP due to reliability issues. However, it was his comments ahead of the GP on former rival Lewis Hamilton that sparked outrage in the F1 community.
Alonso said that Max Verstappen’s championships have more value than Hamilton’s. Moreover, former teammate of Lewis has found the support of another two time champion, Emerson Fittipaldi.
Talking to Vegas Insider, Fittipaldi said, “Fernando is correct. Max Verstappen has had to compete with more drivers than Lewis Hamilton. [It’s] very difficult to analyse but the point that Fernando mentioned has merit because now it is extremely competitive. Much more than when Lewis was winning the championships – that was against his team-mate.”
“Now you have Max [Verstappen], who is against a lot of different people. If you think about it, yes, Fernando is correct.”
Alonso is currently P9 in the driver’s championship, 11 points behind his teammate Esteban Ocon. The veteran of F1 will be looking to bridge that gap in the upcoming race in Brazil.
Racing legend calls out Lewis Hamilton for “snitching”
German racing driver, Hans-Joachim Stuck has indirectly called out Lewis Hamilton for “snitching” and hopes the trend of ‘grassing’ in F1 decreases. The 71-year-old, who has also competed in Formula 1, is a 2-time Le Mans winner.
After seeing the battle at the US GP between last year’s title rivals, he thinks Hamilton’s tactics to get Max a penalty for exceeding track limits is not the best way to move forward.
Talking to Servus TV, he said, “I don’t agree with what they’re doing because of the track limits. I won’t name names, but I wouldn’t say over the radio that this driver or that driver has exceeded the track limits. That’s pure snitching.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He further continued, “The boys should instead step on the gas. That’s my opinion. The drivers don’t have to go and have a coffee after the race – because they’re racing! And sometimes you just have to let the race be a race.”
The racing legend hopes that there will be less “snitching” and more racing in the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton Finds Himself in an Unusual Situation With His Teammate for the First Time Since 2007
F1 drivers will go to any lengths to win, and while Hamilton was just using the protocol to his advantage, it didn’t go down well with Hans-Joachim Stuck. Do you agree with the German’s view of increased grassing amongst the F1 drivers?