Alonso's defense of Hamilton carries hidden blow for the 7-time world champion

16:00, 13 Jun

Updated: 18:47, 13 Jun

byNorberto Mujica

Fernando Alonso despite foreseeing a tougher fight for the wins and titles at the top, has thrown a lifeline to ardent rival and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton who is currently experiencing what is perhaps the toughest stage of his F1 career.

Whereas it seemed as though McLaren would have their work cut out for them this year, it's been a rather laxed run for the Woking-based team, Alonso said to AS.

"I expected a very close fight, and it's true that the midfield is very tight, but the fight for first place isn't that hard. McLaren is slightly ahead of everyone right now."

"Although the championship is long, we've seen in the last two seasons that it's not guaranteed that one team will dominate the second half of the year as well. The first half was McLaren's, but we'll see in the second. Although they are the benchmark for everyone,” added the Spaniard.

Hamilton 'truly great driver, but can't handle difficult cars'

Hamilton's fanfare move to Ferrari, which has come under serious and heavy questioning, has also met its fair share of snags in terms of on-track performance. Is there something 'wrong' with the British world champion?

“What's wrong with him? I have no idea. Lewis is a truly great driver; on tracks like Canada, he's capable of exploiting all his strengths. After 24 races, we'll do the math; he's struggling now, but he can turn things around very quickly.”

The Spaniard then made the comparison to last season, when he endured hardships at Mercedes next to former teammate George Russell. “I don't think the situation has changed much compared to last year with Russell."

"Back then, the Mercedes was apparently difficult to drive and Russell was more comfortable. This year, the situation seems to be the same. But it's difficult to give an opinion without having all the information,” concluded Alonso.