Formula 1 Alonso vs. Hamilton – Global Sports Planet

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In Formula 1, few drivers manage to go down in the history books as world champions. Only four drivers currently hold the title of world champion: Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen.

Alonso and Hamilton are the oldest current world champions and are two of the greatest protagonists of an entire Formula 1 era. Both drivers have faced each other numerous times on track, have fought for a great number of titles, and have become true legends and references for future generations.

From their fierce rivalry in 2007, through the period when they were both fighting against Red Bull, to the present day, Alonso and Hamilton have been a constant over the last decade and a half. Get ready, because today we have one of the most epic rivalries of modern times.

Alonso vs. Hamilton: Over 15 Years Of Formula 1

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the longest-serving and most experienced drivers on the current grid. The Spaniard made his Formula 1 debut in 2001, while the Briton in 2007, and since then they have remained in excellent form, being, together with Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, the greatest drivers of the 21st century so far.

Much has happened in Formula 1 since their debut. The category used the powerful and so characteristic 3-liter V10 engines until 2005, and the 2.4-liter V8 engines until 2013. From 2014 onwards, they have used the ultra-efficient 1.6-liter V6 hybrid engines, in keeping with the new times.

Aerodynamically the cars have also undergone many changes, as well as in safety, with the halo being the major element introduced. Both Alonso and Hamilton had competitive cars during their early years, both becoming the youngest world champions in history in their time.

However, not everything has been easy from the beginning, since their first championships until now, they have had to adapt to the new times and face other great drivers of different generations such as Schumacher, Räikkönen, Button, Vettel, Rosberg, and Verstappen.

Fernando Alonso: The Spanish Samurai

Fernando Alonso is the main reason why many Spaniards are Formula 1 fans today. Before him, a second-place finish in 1956 by Alfonso de Portago was the only Spanish achievement in F1.

Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 with Minardi, a backmarker team, and in 2003 he signed for Renault, which was on the rise. The Spaniard soon established himself as one of the great young promises, achieving several podiums, pole positions, and a victory in his first year with the French team. He was a very fast, complete, and intelligent driver on the track.

The Spaniard won two consecutive world championships in 2005 and 2006, against great rivals such as Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher, becoming the youngest champion, and in 2007 he drove for McLaren, a year in which the British team threw away the title due to internal tensions between Alonso and Hamilton.

The Spaniard returned to Renault in 2008 and after two uncompetitive seasons signed for Ferrari in 2010.

With Ferrari, Alonso never had the best car, but he came close to winning in 2010 and 2012 against Sebastian Vettel. It was during this time that he has best proved to be one of the best drivers in history, achieving great feats with uncompetitive cars.

In 2015, the Spaniard returned to McLaren and its promising project with Honda, which turned out to be a failure, and after 4 seasons of frustration, Alonso retired from F1. However, he returned in 2021 with Renault and its new project: Alpine.

Despite his age, Alonso has proven to be in top form, achieving in 2021 his first podium since 2014, although the car is not as competitive as he would like.

Lewis Hamilton: The Best F1 Driver Statistically Ever

After winning Formula 3 and GP2, Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007 with McLaren, alongside Fernando Alonso. With a very fast car, the Briton achieved his first podiums and victories in his rookie season, and equaled the Spaniard in points, being both second in the championship, after tough confrontations and internal division in the team. After his great rookie season, Hamilton became the new great promise of F1.

After the Spaniard left the team, Hamilton dominated the 2008 season, winning his first championship and beating Alonso as the youngest world champion in history. The Briton remained at McLaren until 2012, achieving numerous podiums and victories, although he never had a truly winning car to fight for the championship.

In 2013 he signed for Mercedes, a team that, at first, seemed to be less competitive than McLaren. However, the Silver Arrows hit the right key with the regulation changes that took place in 2014 with the V6 turbo hybrid engines, and the German team began one of the most dominant periods in history.

With Mercedes, Hamilton has won 6 titles, equaling Michael Schumacher, and has become the best driver statistically in history. Since 2014, only 2 drivers have beaten him in the championship: his teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016, and Max Verstappen in 2021. In 2022 everything looks more evenly matched, although the Briton is still in great form.

Alonso vs. Hamilton: When Statistics Do Not Tell The Whole Truth

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are undoubtedly two of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1, however, statistics do not always show the whole truth, and must be analyzed in context.

Hamilton is statistically the best driver in history, and so far, he is the only driver who has won races in every year he has participated. The Englishman may not always have had the strongest car, but he has always had very competitive cars with which to fight for victories and podiums.

On the other hand, Fernando Alonso has had competitive cars for many years, but has practically lost more than half of his racing career with uncompetitive cars. The only seasons in which it could be said that he had the best car were in his years as champion in 2005 and 2006, and when McLaren threw away the title in 2007.

In his years with Ferrari, he always had to outperform his cars to stand up to Red Bull, while at McLaren he had one of the slowest cars on the grid. On the other hand, in his second stage with Renault in 2008 and 2009, he had midfield cars, as he does now with Alpine. Statistics do not do justice to Alonso, as he is far above them.

Therefore, by simply analyzing the statistics of both, we might think that Hamilton is much better than Alonso when, in reality, the two are on par for many. In a sport where the car is very important, we must analyze statistics within their context, as it is easy to draw wrong conclusions after simply looking at them without taking into account the background.

Alonso vs. Hamilton: The Infamous 2007 Season

Alonso and Hamilton coincided in the same team, McLaren, in the 2007 season. The Spaniard was already a double world champion, while the Briton was the team\’s shining young star, and it was a combination that promised to be the start of a historic duo, but turned into one of the hottest rivalries in modern F1, characterized by ferocity, controversy, and chaos.

That season McLaren had the best car, and two of the best drivers on the grid, so everything seemed to become a dream season for the team. However, they threw away the title due to internal tensions and the ego of both drivers. The team started the season very competitive, and after 4 races, Hamilton was leading the championship, with Alonso close behind.

The first tensions began at the fifth round of the season, the Monaco GP, when Alonso was leading the race and Hamilton disobeyed the team by not slowing down the pace, thus fracturing the relationship.

In the eleventh round, at the Hungarian GP, Hamilton again disobeyed the team in qualifying, and Alonso did not forgive him and took his revenge by deliberately losing time in the pits, making Hamilton unable to complete his last lap while the Spaniard got the pole position. The Spaniard was later penalized with 5 positions, while Hamilton won the race.

The relationship between both drivers and the team broke definitively after that, becoming a toxic environment, and the clashes and accusations between them were constant. The trigger that ended up dynamiting McLaren was the scandal known as \”Spygate\”, in which a Ferrari mechanic had allegedly provided information from his team to McLaren.

As a result, the FIA imposed a historic sanction on McLaren: a fine of one hundred million dollars and disqualification from the Constructors\’ Championship. In the end, with all this toxic atmosphere at McLaren, Kimi Räikkönen won the championship, while both Alonso and Hamilton came second, just one point behind the Finn. Evidently, after this embarrassing season, the Spaniard left the team.

Here are the statistics of both drivers during the 2007 season:

Fernando Alonso	Stat	Lewis Hamilton
3rd	Championship result	2nd
109	Points	109
1st	Best race result	1st
4	Wins	4
2	Pole positions	6
3	Fastest laps	2
1	DNFs	1
2,94	Average finish position	3,00
3,18	Average grid position	2,59

Alonso vs. Hamilton: Career Stats

With his dominating stint at Mercedes, Hamilton has been able to match Michael Schumacher and his 7 world championships, breaking record after record, and setting figures that previously seemed unattainable.

The Briton, in a total of 299 GPs, has achieved 103 wins, 186 podiums, 103 pole positions, and 60 fastest laps. That means that he has achieved 34.4 % of the victories, 62.2% of the podiums, 34.4% of the pole positions, and 20.07% of the fastest laps in the races in which he has participated so far. These figures are quite impressive and will be very difficult for future generations to reach or beat.

On the other hand, Fernando Alonso has participated in 347 races, and the Spaniard has scored 32 wins, 98 podiums, 22 pole positions, and 23 fastest laps. This means that he has won 9,22% of the races in which he has raced, and has achieved 28.24% of podiums, 6.34% of pole positions, and 6.6% of fastest laps.

As mentioned above, Alonso was the youngest world champion in history and was later beaten by Hamilton. The British driver did not hold the record for long either, as in 2010, he was beaten by Sebastian Vettel, making the Briton the second youngest driver in history to be world champion, while the Spaniard is third.

	Driver	Age	Year
1	Sebastian Vettel	23 years, 134 days	2010
2	Lewis Hamilton	23 years, 300 days	2008
3	Fernando Alonso	24 years, 59 days	2005
4	Max Verstappen	24 years, 73 days	2021
5	Emerson Fittipaldi	25 years, 303 days	1972
6	Michael Schumacher	25 years, 314 days	1994
7	Niki Lauda	26 years, 197 days	1975
8	Jacques Villeneuve	26 years, 200 days	1997
9	Jim Clark	27 years, 174 days	1963
10	Kimi Räikkönen	28 years, 4 days	2007

Alonso vs. Hamilton: Strengths and Weaknesses

Alonso and Hamilton are two of the best drivers in history, and they share many similarities. Both are very consistent drivers who always know how to get the most out of their cars, even when they are not competitive.

Both are often faster than their teammates and perform very well under pressure, and they are true team leaders, both in good times and in difficult moments. Both also excel in the rain.

Experience is another positive factor that characterizes both of them, performing very well in certain complex situations. Hamilton is faster on a single lap, but Alonso is a more complete driver.

Hamilton\’s biggest weakness is tire management, as he often complains about it over the radio, while Alonso\’s weakest point is his team choices, where he always seems to choose the least competitive teams.

Alonso vs. Hamilton: Relationship And Lifestyle

Despite their toxic rivalry during the 2007 season, both drivers have matured a lot since then, healing from those clashes, and now get along well. Both have commented on numerous occasions that they were very young at the time and blame the team for not knowing how to guide the situation.

Although not formally friends, the two get along very well in the paddock, sharing laughs in front of the cameras, and do not hesitate to congratulate each other when they achieve something.

As for his lifestyle, Alonso lives in Lugano, Switzerland, which is an ideal place for sports and a quiet life. The Spaniard lives with his girlfriend, German journalist Andrea Schlager, and among his favorite sports is cycling.

On the other hand, Hamilton lives in Monaco with his dog Roscoe and goes running every day. The Englishman is one of the most active drivers on social networks, using them on many occasions to highlight the issues he finds important. Hamilton attends many social events, and among his great hobbies is fashion.

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Conclusion

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have led an entire generation of Formula 1 drivers, and although they have had very different sporting careers, there has been no shortage of friction and confrontations on the track between the two.

Undoubtedly, both will go down in history as two of the best drivers, not only of their time, but of history, although in the case of the Spaniard the statistics do not favor him as much as Hamilton.