Did Lewis Hamilton really say “There’s no way I’m losing to him" to Fernando Alonso on his team radio?

Lewis Hamilton spent most of his Australian Grand Prix involved in a tight battle with Fernando Alonso after slipping to second after Max Verstappen's overtaking.

Hamilton led the race briefly at Albert Park, taking control at the first red flag after teammate George Russell pitted him from the lead. Yet Hamilton was helpless in the face of Verstappen's straight-line speed advantage as the Dutchman soared around him.

With Alonso trailing the Mercedes driver, the Spaniard was able to reduce the margin to under two seconds as he attempted to get within the DRS range of his former teammate.

During the race, Lewis Hamilton radioed in to engineer Pete Bonnington while keeping Fernando Alonso at bay. According to Sky F1, Hamilton said over team radio, "There's no way I'm losing to him," which might be interpreted as a direct response to Alonso's previous comments downplaying the value of Hamilton's championship triumphs.

A deeper analysis of Hamilton's conversations with engineer Pete Bonnington, on the other hand, shows quite a different message. This is the actual radio conversation between Bono and Hamilton.

Bono: “Gap at 1.2 to Alonso.”

Bono: “Alonso 21.7.”

Hamilton: “Know where I’m losing to him?”

Bono: “OK Lewis, standby.”

Hamilton: “Lot of vibration on the front tyres.”

Bono: “Copy Lewis, it’s something on the rear axle, I’ll let you know.”

While the facts behind the radio communications drastically changes the context of the alleged radio message, it would not have been shocking if Hamilton had responded "there's no way I'm losing to him!"

Alonso spoke with French journal L'Equipe ahead of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, mocking Hamilton's recollection of precisely how quick Mercedes had been after Hamilton stated Red Bull's RB19 is more dominating than any of his own cars.

Despite being held off the track by Hamilton in Melbourne, the two appeared on good terms on the podium and in the press conference, with Alonso praising Hamilton's steeliness under pressure.

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Lewis Hamilton is pleased on the Melbourne podium following Mercedes' struggles

Lewis Hamilton said he was "super grateful" for his first podium of the season in Australia on Sunday (April 2), and believes Mercedes can cut the gap on the dominant Red Bulls.

After starting third on the grid, the British driver briefly led in Melbourne before finishing second behind Max Verstappen but ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

“I didn’t expect to be second so I’m super grateful for it,” he said during the post-race interview.

This was Lewis Hamilton's finest result of the year and incredibly promising following a disastrous season for his struggling team last year.