F1 News: Fernando Alonso Backs Lewis Hamilton Over Eighth Championship Title
Fernando Alonso has extended his support to Lewis Hamilton, insisting that he will still get an opportunity to win his eighth championship title.
The seven-time champion was eager to fight for his eighth title in 2022, however, with the Mercedes team taking a different direction Hamilton had the first season of his career without a race win. The start of 2023 has also proven to be difficult for the Brackley-based squad, although they have found significant improvements from last year.
Speaking ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Alonso explained:
“Lewis will be in contention for the eighth title. I don’t know if that will be next year, or in the future, but he will have another chance of winning the championship, that is for sure.
“Mercedes are a very strong team, and Lewis is a very strong driver. He doesn’t forget how to drive from one season to the next.
“The Mercedes car is not an easy one to drive and it is not a fast car, but you see every weekend that Lewis is always there – fourth, fifth, fourth, and he was second in Australia. He is driving on top of the car.”
Alonso has had an incredible start to the season, currently sitting in third place in the drivers' standings just 12 points behind Sergio Perez. The Spanish driver has taken the third spot on the podium for four out of the six races so far this season, and took second place during the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend.
Both Alonso and Hamilton could possibly break the record of being the first driver to win a race after entering over 300 races, although it is looking much more likely that the former will break the record first with the impressive performance of the Aston Martin.