Fernando Alonso open to having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate: "I'd love that"
Fernando Alonso has expressed interest in having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate in the future. The Mercedes driver is out of his contract at the end of the season and there is still no sign of any official extension.
The two parties have stated interest in continuing together, but the delay is starting to raise questions. Not only that, the fact that the Silver Arrows have been unable to produce a car capable of fighting for the title has hurt their relationship as well.
In all of this, the possibility of a partnership with Alonso at Aston Martin would surprise everyone. The two drivers were first paired together in 2007, Hamilton's rookie season. In the end, the competitiveness of Hamilton and Alonso's expectations of being the No.1 driver ruined the relationship.
Their partnership lasted only a year as the Spaniard left McLaren and moved back to Renault for 2008. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he revealed that he had no issues with having Hamilton as a teammate. Alonso even welcomed the idea of the two drivers ending their careers together. He said:
“It would be nice to end our careers together. I’d love that. We had a difficult season but we respected what the other was doing on track and still do. We each consider the other to be a talented driver and one of the toughest competitors we have ever met."
Fernando Alonso's 'jibe-laden' remark for Lewis Hamilton
The 2023 F1 Australian GP weekend saw one Alonso remark make headlines after the other. In a recent comment, the Spaniard disagreed with Hamilton's claim that Red Bull's car this year is the fastest-ever. Alonso said:
“I don’t agree at all. Last week (in Saudi Arabia), I finished 20 seconds behind Checo and Max (Verstappen). He and (Nico) Rosberg were a minute ahead in 2014 and 2015. ... He has a short memory; he’s getting old!”
He added:
“With a normal car, you can see that he has weaknesses. Before, he drove alone or sometimes with his teammate. But look, he is the record holder for poles ,and George Russell has just given him a 2-0 in qualifying this season. It just goes to show how much the car is still a key factor…”.
It's not nice to see drivers being disrespectful to each other, but at the same time, it does appear to be a breath of fresh air to see drivers not keeping up with the PR facade that they tend to in every interview. Drivers speaking their minds are always welcome, even if it can be a bit raspy at times.