Top 5 battles between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso

This is one of the most celebrated rivalries in Formula 1 for many years. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso offered the most beautiful goal passes in motorsport’s premier category. From teammates to arch-enemies on the track, take a look at the best moments of the rivalry between the Brit and the Spaniard.

It’s about two longevity monsters in Formula 1. On the one hand, it goes to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has won 16 seasons (since 2007). On the other hand, Fernando Alonso, double world champion, 19 seasons (2001, 2003–2018, 2021).

These two drivers combine the most prestigious records in the category. Lewis Hamilton holds the pole position and wins (103), podiums (188) and titles (tied with Michael Schumacher at 7). Fernando Alonso has 352 starts, a premier class record.

USA 2007: the first year of electricity

When Fernando Alonso joined McLaren in 2007, he was a double world champion with Renault. Next to him, Lewis Hamilton made his debut in Formula 1.

The reigning two-time World Champion along with the Rookie thought the perfect mix Ron Dennis. In addition, Lewis Hamilton will prove that he is not a rookie like the others. The Briton will fight for the championship in his first season with Raikkonen, Alonso and Massa.

Cohabitation in Hungary that year stretched to the breaking point. Alonso will receive a grid penalty for slowing down the Briton in the pit lane, preventing him from completing his final run in Q3. Hamilton would win this Grand Prix and cause a point of no return between the team and its drivers.

Let’s focus on the 2007 US Grand Prix and this crazy battle between the two drivers. Because if these two hit it off throughout the season, the apogee on the track happened on American soil, in Indianapolis.

We are halfway through the race when Fernando Alonso puts pressure on the leader Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard attacks the Briton in a straight line and approaches him. Despite his lack of experience, he was able to maintain the lead by delaying his braking. The exasperated reigning two-time world champion will even shave the pit wall to lecture his team with a wave of his arm on the next lap.

After that, the young driver will widen the gap in the following laps and will not be able to prevent his Spanish teammate from winning.

Canada 2013: Second place at stake

We meet again after six years. Lewis Hamilton, now a Mercedes driver, has been world champion ever since (2008). Alonso, meanwhile, wore red after a rebound at Renault (2008-2009) and a one-year stint at McLaren. However, the pair are no longer top scorers and have had to contend with the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull since the start of the decade.

If Vettel never worries and flies over the Canadian Grand Prix, it’s a battle for second place between our two heroes. With Lewis Hamilton clinging to second place from the start, Fernando Alonso came back to put pressure on the Briton in the closing laps.

After fending off Ferrari’s attacks, the Mercedes driver reaches the limit and crushes his rival at the hairpin. He finally admits defeat right in the pit. “Being chased by Fernando (Alonso) is like being chased by a bull”said Hamilton after the race.

The Spaniard, who prepared his attack perfectly, is ahead of the Briton, who lost just seven laps from the finish. Fernando Alonso will be ahead of Hamilton on the second step of the podium, behind Vettel.

Germany 2013: bis repetita

A month after Canada, the two drivers do it again on the Nürburgring track. Alonso finds himself back in the chase position and puts pressure on Hamilton.

The Briton remarkably held his position for several laps in front of the increasingly tight Spaniard. Finally, Hamilton will be called to the pits by Mercedes and put an end to this fight between the two former teammates.

A duel between the best in the category. Not a bad move, prepared attacks on the one hand, solid defense on the other. It’s delicious!

Mexico 2017: defense in the blood

Approaching the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, the trajectories are at odds between the two drivers. Lewis Hamilton is now a three-time world champion after his success at the wheel of Mercedes in 2014 and 2015. Fernando Alonso has returned to work at McLaren two seasons after his adventure with the Scuderia came to an acrimonious end.

If the Asturian gets a positive result from 2016 with McLaren, he is no longer among the contenders for the title. But a legend never dies, and the pilot will remember what an exceptional defender he was.

After a puncture on the first lap, Lewis Hamilton saw his race get tougher. As he started from the 3rd place, the British had to fight for 71 laps to find the top 10. On the 68th lap, he faced Alonso for the 9th place.

At the end of the race, the Briton in Mercedes, who regained his rhythm, is the favorite against Alonso’s McLaren team. However, Lewis Hamilton will remember ten times how difficult it is to pass the Spaniard on the tarmac…

Hamilton benefits from DRS on the long straight in Mexico and we all think he will make short work of the McLaren as the performance gap looks to his advantage. It was without hope for Alonso, who saw his former team-mate return to his height but managed to brake long enough to keep the lead inside.

A second chance for the Brit on the next round. In the same scenario, Hamilton moves up to Alonso on the straight, but the Spaniard narrowly edges the Brit on the first corner and takes the lead. The Mercedes driver then passes the Asturias for a better lead on the second straight.

Two drivers find themselves behind the wheel in turn 4. Hamilton takes advantage of the Turn 5 trajectory to take a decisive lead. Again, a high level duel between two champions.

Hungary 2021: Dam Alonso

Returning to Formula 1 after two years away from the paddock, Fernando Alonso fondly recalled the many duels he had with now seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

This Grand Prix is ​​the scene of a surreal scene at the start of the race. At the start, Bottas mixes the tarmac with a bowling alley and hits a couple of single-seaters by pulling straight into the first corner.

After about thirty minutes of red flag, the pilots return to the track in intervals. Realizing that the track was improving, everyone decided to start from the pit lane to put on slick tires. All but Lewis Hamilton, who started alone on the grid on intermediate tyres.

The Briton was forced to pit the next lap and was dead last. Everything has to be redone for the Mercedes driver. At the same time, Esteban Ocon took the lead in the Grand Prix.

On lap 34, Fernando Alonso leads the race for the first time since 2014 after his team-mate stops. Since then, Lewis Hamilton has recovered some of his delay and is now in 5th place.

On lap 40, Alonso left the race lead to put on a hard tyre. Hamilton makes his last stop on lap 47, attempting a last-ditch effort to victory on the middle tires.

After six laps, the Briton is fastest on the track and joins his rival. We are on lap 55 when number 44 makes its first attack on Asturias. The latter, equipped with hard tires for 15 laps, will struggle to keep up with Hamilton’s Mercedes, equipped with less worn medium tires.

“When I think about it, it was unbelievable, Fernando put me through hell.”

At the wheel of the Alpine, Alonso will make a defensive display on the Hungaroring route. The Spaniard will constantly fend off the attacks of his former team-mate, who wasted precious time in his quest for victory over the course of 15 laps.

On lap 65, Alonso locked his steering wheel at the entrance to the first corner and Hamilton took the chance to get the better of his rival. After long minutes of resistance, it was necessary to bypass the 40-year-old pilot that day.

What made Alonso’s performance even more spectacular is that he was dressed in tighter and more worn-out ensembles than the Mercedes driver’s average clothes.

Despite his blistering pace at the end of the race, Hamilton could not get back to Esteban Oko, who scored his first victory in Formula 1.

The climax of the duels between these two Formula 1 legends ends here. A list that could continue to grow as Alonso and Hamilton enter their 20th and 17th seasons in the elite in 2023, respectively.