Lewis Hamilton qualified third for the Australian GP.

Lewis Hamilton sends F1 fans into delirium with apparent attack on Fernando Alonso's 'getting old' claim

Modified Apr 01, 2023 13:29 IST

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton gave a cheeky response to his former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso's claims that he was getting old.

Hamilton and Alonso have never shied away from taking shots at each other. Alonso had told French publication, Le'Equipe, that Hamilton had a short memory given his age, after his comments on Red Bull being the fastest F1 car ever:

“I don’t agree at all. Last week (in Saudi Arabia), I finished 20 seconds behind Checo and Max (Verstappen). He and (Nico) Rosberg were a minute ahead in 2014 and 2015. … He has a short memory; he’s getting old!”

Hamilton, who qualified P3 for the Australian GP ahead of Alonso, said that he remembered his first outing at the Albert Park Circuit when he made an overtake on Alonso at Turn 1 and will target a win on Sunday. He said:

"To get to first! I'm gonna try and see and hope for a day like the first year in 2007, Turn 1 here would be awesome. I don't know if anyone remembers, that but yeah that would be awesome."

elle

@HAMLEWISIR

alonso on lewis hamilton: he has short memory, he is getting old.

lewis hamilton remembering 2007:

Hamilton's response sent F1 Twitter into a frenzy. Here are some of the top reactions:

Stefanie

@fastpitstop

Lewis Hamilton tomorrow against Alonso

#AustralianGP

MERC II

@FreeMercIntern

LEWIS HAMILTON OUT QUALIFIED ALONSO!!!!

Maddy

@HeartlessQuenn1

@FanaticsFerrari Alonso is always bitter about Mercedes and Hamilton. That's a fact. He should worry about his car.

Edward Harte

@likkle_blocks18

Hamilton and Alonso going back and forth at each other every weekend. twitter.com/fastestpitstop…

Fastest Pitstop

@FastestPitStop

Lewis Hamilton says he wants to get to first place in tomorrow’s race.

"I’ll be hoping for a day like the first year, 2007, Turn 1 here would be awesome. I don’t know if anyone remembers but, it would be awesome if we could do that."

#F1 #AustralianGP

layan

@layan_khh

fernando alonso is obsessed with lewis hamilton

Joe

@trex_nottheband

@RedBullUpdates Alonso has never gotten over Hamilton beating him as a rookie.

عظيم

@_AzeemP

Lewis Hamilton just sat Fernando Alonso a** down in a normal car. Damn!!!!!

elle

@HAMLEWISIR

when you’re in a “think of lewis hamilton” competition and fernando alonso is your opponent.

"I'm so happy with this" - Lewis Hamilton delighted with qualifying performance

Lewis Hamilton was delighted with his P3 performance, as he finished just a tenth behind teammate George Russell and ahead of Fernando Alonso. He said in his post-quali interview:

"I'm so happy with this. Totally unexpected. Really, really proud of the team. George did a fantastic job today. For us to be up on the two front rows is honestly a dream for us. We're all working as hard as we can to get right back up the front, and so to be this close to Red Bull is honestly incredible."

He continued:

"I hope tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money, and we hope the weather is good. The second lap wasn't as good as obviously the first one. I did get a little bit further ahead in the last sector, but ultimately, I lost out a little bit at the beginning, but I'm not disappointed."

It will be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton can challenge for the win and defend from Aston Martin as they usually come alive in races.

Edited by
Bhargav