Fernando Alonso has praised Lewis Hamilton, claiming his success is due to being able to perform “better than anyone”.
Last month, the Mercedes driver tied Michael Schumacher as a seven-time F1 world champion after securing his sixth title in seven years at the Turkish Grand Prix.
However, only a few weeks later, George Russell’s impressive performance standing in for Hamilton at the Sakhir GP once again led some to suggest the car is the primary reason for Lewis’ achievements.
“Okay, he has a dominant car, but he’s better than his teammate,” Alonso told Marca of his former McLaren teammate this week.
“You always have to show up, he can’t afford a bad weekend, he’s at the peak of his performance. Hopefully, we can fight Lewis soon, not next year, but soon.
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“I think a lot of people can win a Grand Prix with that car and they can win championships in that car. That doesn’t mean anything bad about Lewis like I said, he’s one step ahead,” the two-time F1 champion insisted.
“How important is the car? What is it like to be in the right place at the right time? It is very important. This is Formula 1 and it has always been like that, but when you are in that place and at that moment, you have to perform and Lewis does it better than anyone.”
As it stands, however, Hamilton is currently yet to re-sign with Mercedes for 2021 but, on social media at least, there are signs a deal could be close to being announced.
#Announce… ?✍️ pic.twitter.com/ShmgTyZg8h
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 17, 2020
And speaking in Abu Dhabi, the 35-year-old had indicated a desire to end the speculation soon.
“Hopefully over the next couple weeks,” he said on when a deal would be made.
“We’d love to get it done before Christmas. I plan to be here next year, I want to be here next year and I think us as a team have more to do together, more to achieve both in the sport but even more outside the sport I think.
“I hope we can begin discussions this week and get it tied up before Christmas.”