Lewis Hamilton Praises Fernando Alonso

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso never saw eye-to-eye when the two were teammates. However, the former has rated the Spaniard as the greatest driver he has competed against in his career.

The championship leader admitted that it was a pity that Alonso was not as decorated as he deserved to be.

For sure, in the racing world he will be missed,” Hamilton said. “He has been a really big part of it and is one of the greatest drivers that have ever been here.

“I would say it is a shame that he is not as decorated as his ability deserves, but sport is a very interesting machine and it’s not just about being a great driver.

“It is how you manoeuvre, how you play the game. It’s like a chess game and how you position yourself with all the different things that are also part of the package.

“He is arguably the greatest driver I have driven against and I wish him all the best.”

Alonso broke seven-time champion Michael Schumacher’s dominance in 2005. The Spaniard, driving for Renault at the time, won the drivers’ title in 2005 and 2006. In the process, he became the youngest ever F1 champion for a while.

A year later, he joined McLaren to partner Hamilton, who was a rising superstar then. However, things were quite troubled at the McLaren camp and they were beaten to the title by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

“Naturally, I don’t hold sadness for it,” he said. “There’s no reason for me to hold sadness for it… He will be missed.

“But 17 seasons is a lot and I have huge respect for that because it is not easy for a driver to stay that long and perform.

“It’s a lot of commitment, a lot of time and a lot of dedication that people might not understand and appreciate, but naturally, as within any sport, I can appreciate it.”