In a press conference ahead of the upcoming French Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton described Fernando Alonso as his "strongest competitor" in his F1 career. However, fans have taken to the internet to troll the Briton for picking Alonso over Max Verstappen.When asked to name his "toughest opponent" in F1 so far, the Mercedes driver replied:“I think it's difficult to say who's necessarily been the strongest competitor, I think, because every time you’re with someone you're in a different place in your life so…"He continued to describe his experience around Fernando Alonso: "I remember the task of being alongside Fernando when I was 22. I was so young mentally and of course, okay in terms of skill, but it's a lot of pressure to go against a great like him so I would say out of pure pace, I think, I always say it's Fernando and ability. We had some good battles. I wish we could have more and hopefully he's going to continue to race so hopefully we will have more in the future.” View this post on Instagram Instagram PostMax Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to win his maiden championship title, denying the 37-year-old a record-breaking eighth title last season. Fans argued that Hamilton's "pride" stopped him from pointing out that Verstappen was in fact his toughest competitor.Here are some fans' reactions to Lewis Hamilton's press conference answerRaz R@raz_rodgers@v8_enjoyer @MV1_Supremacy @autosport Alonso is clear of Hamilton but not Verstappen lol. In a few years Max will overtake Fernando in everything.@v8_enjoyer @MV1_Supremacy @autosport Alonso is clear of Hamilton but not Verstappen lol. In a few years Max will overtake Fernando in everything.🇬🇧 Honest Hamilton fan 🇬🇧@MV1_Supremacy@autosport Alonso is his 2nd toughest opponent. Verstappen is the toughest25@autosport Alonso is his 2nd toughest opponent. Verstappen is the toughestMelle@Mvgils64@autosport He’s jealous of Max already. He knows already at Max’s age that he’s gonna be the greatest of all time🤣 #19@autosport He’s jealous of Max already. He knows already at Max’s age that he’s gonna be the greatest of all time🤣👑 #1TREVOR 🍗🍗🍗@triggerhoward@autosport Yeah sure shoved max off road as didn’t know how else to get past him took different lines this year !!@autosport Yeah sure shoved max off road as didn’t know how else to get past him 😂😂😂😂took different lines this year !!Daraff_7@Daraff_7@ESPNF1 Verstappen and Vettel:1621@ESPNF1 Verstappen and Vettel: https://t.co/zNhAbArOXXStefan@Stefan57831659@ESPNF1 Haha he is to proud to name Max. Max killed his championship streak 61@ESPNF1 Haha he is to proud to name Max. Max killed his championship streak 😄Fernando Alonso describes Lewis Hamilton as a "legend" of F1Fernando Alonso recently claimed that Lewis Hamilton is pretty much the same as he was during his F1 debut back in 2007. He admitted that the experience Hamilton has been able to garner over the years has only added to his abilities on track.Describing Hamilton as a "legend" in a press conference ahead of the French GP, the Alpine driver said:“I don’t think that he has changed much, to be honest. He had the talent already in 2007. He still has the talent, now with experience. He has been a tremendous driver - a legend of our sport. So it has been always a pleasure to share all this time with him."He continued:"And back then, probably no one thought that someone will be able to win seven titles as Michael [Schumacher]. The journey has been amazing. The team that they all built in Mercedes over these years, it was outstanding. Congratulations to the 300.”Fernando Alonso secured two world championship titles in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Lewis Hamilton drove his first season in F1 when he joined McLaren to partner with the Spaniard himself.