Controversial Lewis Hamilton biography criticizes Fernando Alonso

A controversial biography of Lewis Hamilton has come under fire for its criticism of two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso. The book had claimed that Alonso was selfish and always “angry” during his stint with the team in 2007 alongside Hamilton.

Published in late 2021, “Lewis Hamilton: The definitive edition” was written by British author Frank Worral who works as an F1 analyst for The Sun and the Sunday Times.

In a scathing review published earlier this week, Spanish media outlet Marca called the book “boastful” rather than a neutral analysis.

The book heavily focusses on Hamilton’s journey into F1 and his initial years in the top-flight of motorsports at McLaren. Delving into his controversial relationship with Alonso during their sole year together on the team, the book portrays the Spaniard in a negative light, while amplifying Hamilton’s achievements.

Quoting an “anonymous” McLaren employees, the author writes:

“It has caused a lot of commotion in the press that Alonso declared that we favour Lewis [Hamilton] because he is British. But that is a hoax. Ron [Dennis, then McLaren team principal] would not allow that to happen. Alonso was almost always angry, goes to a thousand revolutions to cling to the title. Lewis, however, has something special. He is possibly the best driver of his generation.”

The 2007 season was one of the most controversial in F1’s history, and witnessed an epic title battle between Hamilton, Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. While Raikkonen won the title at the end of the year, both Alonso and Hamilton finished the season with one less point compared to the Finn.

Despite the incredible title battle, the season is more prominently remembered for the fractious relationship between Hamilton and Alonso at McLaren and the Ferrari-McLaren spy-gate scandal.

Alonso, the then reigning champion, was aiming for a third consecutive title. He was frustrated by an unexpected challenge from his own teammate. The Spaniard felt let down by the team as he had expected their unconditional support for his championship bid.

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Lewis Hamilton is more famous than Fernando Alonso in Spain, according to the book

The controversial book further claims that Lewis Hamilton is "more famous" than Fernando Alonso in Spain. Delving further into the duo’s fractious relationship, quotes British journalist Rory Ross, who states:

"Hamilton is more famous in Spain than Alonso himself, no matter how much he may annoy the Spaniard. The Spaniard was victimizing himself. He tried to destabilize Lewis and undermine his confidence. Alonso, at times, was incredibly insensitive, harsh, and excessively discouraging. The public had a hard time admiring him and he seemed to allow the brat to irritate him. Lewis was always affable and approachable.”

Meanwhile, during an interview in late 2021, Alonso had opened up about his first stint at McLaren. He felt that the breakdown in his relationship with Hamilton was due to a lack of proper management from the team. However, he revealed that had healed in the subsequent years, and that he got closer to the Briton after 2011.