Lewis Hamilton has reacted to his previous rival Fernando Alonso questioning the worth of a few of his championships.
The Spaniard mentioned in an interview with the Netherlands’ Telegraaf this week {that a} championship has “much less worth while you’ve solely needed to combat together with your team-mate”.
Hamilton then posted an image on social media from 2007, when he and Alonso had been McLaren team-mates, with him on high of a podium and Alonso second.
The seven-time champion posted a thumbs up image with the {photograph}.
Hamilton mentioned after Sunday’s Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix: “I haven’t got loads to say about it. It does make me giggle just a little bit.
“I’ve tried to be actually respectful through the years and while you’ve ever requested me about who has been the perfect driver (I’ve raced in opposition to), I’ve all the time tried to offer reward.
“However it’s positively fascinating to see the feedback made, nevertheless it would not actually matter.”
Earlier than these feedback, Alonso had tried to scale back the impression of his feedback with a publish on Twitter on Saturday.
He wrote: “Please, all of the titles are superb, properly deserved and galvanizing. Incomparable to one another and let’s take pleasure in champions and legends of our present time.
“Uninterested in the continual seek for headlines. Let’s take pleasure in them.”
Hamilton made his debut in F1 in 2007 and he and Alonso staged an in depth and typically bitter combat. Each ended up dropping out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by a single level.
On the finish of the season, Hamilton and Alonso had been tied on factors and each had 4 wins, however Hamilton was declared forward within the championship by advantage of getting extra second locations.
Hamilton’s Twitter publish was a response to the social media response to Alonso’s interview, by which he in contrast his personal two world titles in 2005 and 2006 with these of Max Verstappen this 12 months and final, in opposition to Hamilton’s record-equalling seven.
Alonso mentioned: “This 12 months Max could be very dominant and in some unspecified time in the future he was in a position to cruise to the world title. Final season it was completely different. I assumed he outperformed Lewis ultimately and I believe he’s a worthy champion.
“I even have numerous respect for Lewis. Nonetheless, it is completely different while you win seven world titles, while you’ve solely needed to combat together with your team-mate.
“Then I believe {that a} championship has much less worth than in case you have fewer titles however you have got needed to compete in opposition to different drivers with equal and even higher materials.
“In 2005 and 2006, I had a superb begin to the 12 months and I used to be in a position to create a lead. Then others could have had a greater automobile, however I used to be in a position to handle that hole.
“I by no means needed to combat with my team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella to win the title. I additionally did not see Max combat Sergio Perez or Alex Albon to win races.
“However [Michael] Schumacher primarily fought together with his team-mate Rubens Barrichello to change into champion 5 occasions in a row and Hamilton with Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas. That is completely different, I believe.”
Alonso’s feedback are a questionable interpretation of a few of the titles gained by Schumacher and Hamilton.
Schumacher and Ferrari dominated in 2001, 2002 and 2004 and the German driver had solely his team-mate to beat, however in 2003 he had an in depth combat with McLaren’s Raikkonen and Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya.
And whereas it’s a truthful remark to say Mercedes had been unbeatable from 2014 to 2016 and in 2019-20, in 2017 and 2018 the Ferrari was arguably the faster automobile for almost all of each seasons.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel’s led the championship for a lot of each of these years, just for his title marketing campaign to be undermined by errors from each driver and group, in addition to issues with reliability and dropping the event struggle late within the 12 months.
Hamilton’s Mercedes group boss Toto Wolff mentioned after the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix: “[Alonso]’s a teaser. Comedy, it creates headlines. The game is about headlines, they’re nice champions. Alonso likes to throw one in. I do not suppose it bothers Lewis a millimetre.”