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Rumors regarding Lewis Hamilton's capabilities in F1 have been looming over the paddock, but Fernando Alonso emerged in the defense of the Briton amid such downplaying of the seven-time champion's role on the grid. However, the Spaniard's stance was deemed wrong by some fans, who reckoned that he would be proved wrong in his thesis after the season.
Hamilton jumped ship to Ferrari after spending a dozen years with Mercedes on the F1 grid. He clinched six world championships in this time and decided to move to the prancing horses as seemingly a last-ditch effort to claim the eighth drivers' championship title that has eluded him for long.
But, McLaren has been the class leader since the middle phase of the 2024 season and increased their advantage over the grid this year. On the other hand, Charles Leclerc has the upper hand in the intra-team dynamics as he is winning the teammate head-to-head with a considerable margin.
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This led people to speculate about whether the 40-year-old could battle at the forefront of racing without any drop-off in performance. Hearing such speculations led Fernando Alonso to defend his former championship rival and urged the grid to wait till the 2025 calendar was over before drawing any conclusions.
On the contrary, the two-time F1 champion's assertion was claimed to be wrong by some fans as they reckoned that Hamilton was out of his prime.
"The first time in history Alonso has been wrong."
"Alonso being nice, he knows Lewis is declining," one fan wrote.
"As much as I love and support Lewis, it’s foolish to think he isn’t on the decline and more fans need to accept this," another fan wrote.
Some fans jibed at Ferrari's lack of performance to be the real culprit, and wrote:
"Maybe he sympathizes with Lewis, having driven with Ferrari and enduring years of pain there before," one netizen wrote.
"Alonso knows what it’s like driving for Ferrari," another netizen wrote.
"Ferrari hasn’t been a real competitive car anyway so tough to judge," a netizen shared.
Hamilton and Alonso were teammates at McLaren in 2007, when they finished on equal points in the championship standings.
Lewis Hamilton is supposedly getting the Fernando Alonso McLaren treatment at Ferrari
Fernando Alonso had left Renault after winning his second title and knew the tides were turning towards McLaren the following year. He then moved to the Woking-based squad to replace an outgoing Kimi Raikkonnen and mount his championship defense.
All while Lewis Hamilton had risen through the ranks and he decided to partner up with the Spaniard in his rookie season. But, this partnership soon turned sour as the reigning world champion reckoned that he was given the second driver treatment.
Former McLaren Racing Director, Eric Boullier, drew comparisons with Alonso's 2007 McLaren stint and Hamilton's 2025 Ferrari season so far, and explained how the Briton was on the back foot (via RacingNews365).
"I remember Fernando [Alonso] at McLaren in 2007, and he had the impression the team was not pushing for him because the baby of the house was Lewis [Hamilton]. Lewis is now realising this at Ferrari, that the baby of the house is not him, it's Charles [Leclerc]," said Boullier.
Fernando Alonso sits 18th in the championship standings, whereas Lewis Hamilton sits sixth.
