“Not in a fair field”: Fernando Alonso’s stint alongside Lewis Hamilton defended by former F1 champion

Jacques Villeneuve has defended Fernando Alonso’s stint alongside Lewis Hamilton at the McLaren team. The former world champion detailed how the Spaniard often had to fight back against the precedent that was subtly set by the then team boss Ron Dennis.

The 54-year-old, who spoke on the Red Flags podcast (via Planet F1), detailed how the two-time world champion was largely the marginalized driver between the pair. Villeneuve also detailed how Dennis’ act made the playing field with Lewis Hamilton anything but a fair one.

“You also have to take into account that McLaren signed him, or Ron Dennis signed him, as a double World Champion. He did it for the sponsors and all that.”

“Then he announced Hamilton [and said]: ‘OK, Hamilton is our champion. We don’t like you, Fernando. Excuse me?

“When a team boss unbalances internally a team like that, you have to fight back, and that’s what happened. Alonso was not in a fair field at that point, and he had to fight his own battle alone in the team. That actually destroyed the team ultimately.”

The 2007 campaign, where Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were teammates for the first time, was largely fraught with several talks of internal team battle between the pair.

The signs of the friction between both drivers were evident during the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix, when Alonso appeared to intentionally delay his exit from the pit lane during the final round of qualifying, thereby hindering Hamilton from setting a qualifying lap. The now 44-year-old would eventually be handed a five-place grid for the incident around the Hungaroring.

The 2007 campaign also would see both drivers end the season level on points, with both having 109 points. However, Hamilton would be adjudged to finish ahead of Alonso because he claimed more second-place finishes compared to the Oviedo native.

Fernando on his relationship with Lewis Hamilton

Earlier in 2021, Fernando Alonso opened up on the state of his relationship with Lewis Hamilton. The then Alpine driver detailed how the pair maintained a respectful relationship, but how things appeared to have gone much colder between them.

Alonso, who spoke as quoted by Independent.co.uk, also touched on the fact that the poor management of the pair during their stint at McLaren subtly contributed to their frosty relationship.

“We talked in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and we were closer than ever in those years because we understood that in 2007 we were not very well managed by our bosses.”

“Then we were both very young and very competitive, and we needed some kind of guidance, and we didn’t get it. It was an easy conclusion to make about the 2007 season, and we respected each other a lot and understood each other a lot, too. Now we have this respectful relationship, but maybe it is colder than it used to be. We have different opinions on different things."

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have seen their relationship grow into a more cordial one, particularly with the passing of time. The pair, who were once at loggerheads at the Woking-based outfit, now share a mutual relationship and often speak highly of each other during their interactions with the media.