“We Saw it Against Alonso”- Ex F1 Driver Believes Lewis Hamilton’s Success is “No Surprise”

Ever since Lewis Hamilton arrived in F1, he had that extra bit of radiance in him. In his debut season with McLaren in 2007, he finished 1 point behind Kimi Raikkonen.

Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, amassing a massive reputation as a true racing champion. And in doing so, the Briton has earned 6 Drivers’ titles and several records.

However, there has been criticism from a few segments of the sport over time. With many believing that Hamilton’s greatness is only warranted to the fact that Mercedes constructed some incredibly invulnerable machines over the years.

Lewis Hamilton achieving success does not surprise Herbert

Probably, his levels of consistency might then be contributing to his criticism. He has already achieved so much in the sport and is on course to become the most successful F1 driver of all-time.

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert also believes that Lewis deserves more credit for his accomplishments. And that somewhere, it all started with him going toe-to-toe with his former teammate and 2-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso, back in the day.

Herbert is quoted as saying, “We saw it against the two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso in 2007. In his first season, Lewis was able to beat him!

“So it is no surprise that he is having the success that he is having now at the moment. And he should get more credit and I think he will, once his career comes to an end,” said Herbert.

Hamilton finished above Fernando Alonso in his first season

It is hard to believe that a rookie in his debut season matched the results of the defending champion in Alonso. But then again, that talented rookie was Lewis Hamilton.

The pair were teammates at McLaren in the F1 2007 season. Alonso had just won the title with Renault and was recruited in place of Kimi Raikkonen, who jumped ship to Ferrari.

Things were fiercely competitive on and off the track between the two. And sometimes, they were even embroiled in verbal battles during press conferences and interviews.

The rivalry could resume next season as Fernando Alonso is slated to find his way back to the paddock with the newly branded Alpine F1.