Rewind to the 2007 season. A 22-year-old rookie joins Formula 1 with McLaren to partner two-time champion Fernando Alonso. Fresh off of his title-winning run with Renault, no one—in theory—expected Alonso to be outperformed by a new entrant. But it wasn’t just any rookie. It was Lewis Hamilton, a now-seven-time world champion. Considering all the pressure a rookie faces in their first season, no one could’ve done it better than Hamilton. While his raw talent matched Alonso’s, there was something else that gave him a slight edge over his experienced teammate.

According to former Ferrari General Manager Peter Windsor—who knew Hamiton was destined for greatness with just one look at him—“First season [in McLaren], he was shocking Fernando Alonso at how quick he was straight away and doing things a little bit better in his first season in a couple of areas than Fernando. Like high-speed braking. Good example.” But it wasn’t just this that gave him the upper hand.

Fernando Alonso believed no one could be better than him

Much like Hamilton instantly showed his potential in 2007, Alonso did the same in his 2001 rookie season. Impressing the likes of Michael Schumacher and eventually becoming his championship rival, Alonso made the most of his pre-Hamilton phase in F1. Even after Hamilton’s arrival, it wasn’t that the Spaniard wasn’t in the spotlight anymore. It was just that it was overshadowed by the one on Hamilton. Alonso wasn’t a fan of it but let his pride get in the way of improving, 

In a YouTube livestream, Peter Windsor was asked if former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen was as fast as Hamilton and quicker than Alonso in all their primes. He replied, “I think [Hakkinen and Hamilton] are pretty dead even. But I would say Lewis would have just had the edge over Mika in equal cars. Yeah, both quicker than Alonso.” He explained why he didn’t even need to consider ranking Hakkinen and Hamilton above Alonso before saying it. He said, “Alonso’s never really worked on his technique enough to be super quick over one lap. He’s very, very good over the race distance. So long as he’s always got that, he’s never really bothered with anything else.”

Even now—16 years after 2007—he’s proving his race pace is far superior to his one-lap pace. Reflecting on his 2007 challenges, Windsor added, “He never worked out why Lewis was slightly better on high-speed braking in the McLarens in 2007. He never bothered. He just assumed it must be something weird going on with the car. ‘I’m Fernando Alonso. I’m a better racing driver. It can’t be anything to do with Lewis being better.’” While it’s okay to think you’re the best at something, that shouldn’t stop you from trying to get better. That’s where it all went wrong for Alonso, so much so that he’s still envious of Hamilton.

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Lewis Hamilton still lives rent-free in Alonso’s head

As bitter as their relationship got in 2007, the tensions between Alonso and Hamilton slowly faded over the years. Despite the outwardly portrayed friendliness, Alonso’s recent activity points to underlying envy. Whether it be his comments about Hamilton only knowing how to race in front or his anger for now having won more than two championships (compared to Hamilton’s seven), there are unresolved issues, especially from their time at McLaren.

In another YouTube livestream, Windsor said, “I think Fernando is outwardly quite friendly with Lewis these days and vice versa. But if you get Fernando in a quiet moment, he’ll still say, ‘When I retire, I’ll tell the real story of what happened at McLaren,’ and things like that. You think, ‘Well, what is the real story? What happened at McLaren? What could it be other than Lewis did a very good job in 2007.” What Windsor meant by this was that no matter what Alonso may reveal about 2007, it’s not going to change the fact that he got shown up by a rookie.

Do you think Fernando Alonso will ever accept that Lewis Hamilton did really perform better than him in 2007?

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