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Fernando Alonso has dismissed Lewis Hamilton's claims of Red Bull being the fastest-ever car in a jibe-laden retort.
Hamilton said after the race in Jeddah that the Red Bull driven by Max Verstappen is the fastest car he has ever seen. That comment drew the attention of quite a few F1 pundits, splitting opinion.
Alonso, though, has taken a less political stance on that and dismissed Hamilton's claims. In an interview with French publication L’Equipe, the Spaniard took less than subtle shots at the Mercedes driver. Saying that Hamilton has a short memory and is getting old, Alonso said:
“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!”
The Aston Martin driver also pointed at Hamilton's qualifying deficit to teammate George Russell and took a dig at how the Mercedes driver's career record could be attributed to the dominant car he has had. Alonso said:
“With a normal car, you can see that he has weaknesses. Before, he drove alone or sometimes with his teammate. But look, he is the record holder for poles ,and George Russell has just given him a 2-0 in qualifying this season. It just goes to show how much the car is still a key factor…”.
What had Lewis Hamilton said about Red Bull?
After the race in Jeddah, Hamilton had said that the Red Bull was the fastest car he had ever seen in his career.
The Mercedes driver compared Red Bull to the German team's dominant era and also claimed that those cars were not as quick. He said:
“I’ve definitely never seen a car so fast. When we were fast, we weren’t that fast. That’s the fastest car, I think, I’ve seen, especially compared to the rest. I don’t know why or how but he came past me with serious speed. I didn’t even bother to block because there was a massive speed difference … yep.”
Fernando Alonso's reply to Hamilton's claims is going to add fuel to the fire that has been brewing between the two since 2007. The two drivers tend not to see eye to eye on many things, and Alonso's reply is surely going to elicit a response from Hamilton.
It's almost refreshing to see drivers leave the PR facade to one side and speak their minds, even though it can be a bit disrespectful at times.
