"He's jealous of Max; Max will overtake Fernando in everything"- F1 Fans troll Lewis Hamilton for picking Fernando Alonso over Max Verstappen as his 'strongest competitor'

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.”

Max 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 answer

Fernando Alonso describes Lewis Hamilton as a "legend" of F1

Fernando 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.