It is no secret that there is no love lost between former McLaren teammates Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard often makes digs at the Briton, but in light of the latter's decision to join Scuderia Ferrari in 2025, Alonso had some surprisingly positive things to say.
It may be remembered that Alonso and Hamilton partnered up in McLaren back in 2007, When Alonso had just come off double Drivers' World Championship victories. Hamilton was just a rookie, and the two of them rubbed each other the wrong way. Alonso has always been vocal about the friction between them, and recently declared that while there is mutual respect, they will never build a friendship.
However, he remained pragmatic when asked about Hamilton's impending move to Ferrari. Regardless of his personal feelings towards the seven-time world champion as a person, there is no denying the fact that he is a force to be reckoned with behind the wheel.
Hamilton could bring the X-factor to Ferrari
Speaking about his former team and Hamilton's arrival, Alonso said: "[During the past few years] Ferrari had a very fast car and were fighting for big things. Maybe Lewis can bring that extra to fight for the championship. The car is there."
Indeed the Ferrari has been fast in the last two seasons. Charles Leclerc managed to open up a commanding lead at the start of the 2022 campaign before the team imploded with a string of reliability issues and botched strategies. At the same time, Red Bull managed to get past their early reliability concerns and had a brilliant strategist to back their fast cars and talented drivers.
In 2023, only the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz managed to take a victory away from the Red Bulls, who won 21 out of 22 races throughout the length of the entire campaign.
Looking back at Ferrari's recent performance, Alonso said: "Even last year, with a very dominant Red Bull car, Ferrari were able to match the lap time and be faster than them in most of the qualifyings, so the car should be fast enough."
Alonso could not help but throw some shade
It would not be an interview with Alonso about Hamilton without some shade being thrown around. When asked about his opinion on Hamilton's declaration that it was his "childhood dream" to race in the iconic scarlet livery, Alonso said: "It was not his childhood dream 12 months ago, no? Or two months ago I guess, because it was a different dream then."
The Spaniard was referring to Hamilton's two-year contract renewal with Mercedes, which he had just signed last August. At that time, Hamilton said: "We dream every day of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it's been an honour to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team."
Then, just six months later, Hamilton activated the release clause in the two-year contract, leaving him free to Join Ferrari in 2025.
Alonso is calm about his own future
Meanwhile, there are also a lot of speculations surrounding Alonso's future plans, especially now that he is 42 years old. He did not show any indication of having retirement plans in the near future, especially after Aston Martin's surge in form last season.
Due to Hamilton's move, Alonso's name is one that has been brought up as a possible replacement. However, team principal Toto Wolff has decided to take his time before making such a big decision. When asked about the possibility of joining Mercedes, Alonso told the BBC: "There are only three world champions on the grid, and fast world champions, because in the past maybe there were some champions who were maybe not so committed to be fast. And I am probably the only one available for 2025. So I am in a good position.
"But at the same time, when I make the decision whether I want to keep racing in the future, the first and only talk I will have in the beginning will be with Aston Martin. That will be my only priority.
Alonso knows that he has shown the grid exactly how valuable he could be, especially after helping Aston Martin to several podium finishes so soon after joining. The team itself has declared their intention to keep working with the Spaniard, but it remains to be seen if Mercedes can make an offer he can't refuse should they decide to take the plunge.
Despite feeling a lot of motivation to keep racing, Alonso also stated that while he knows he is capable of racing until he is 50, he is also "curious" about other things in life and that may weigh heavily on how he plans his next moves.
