Fernando Alonso has hailed Lewis Hamilton as one of the greats of Formula 1, in the wake of the Mercedes driver claiming his fourth world championship title.
Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Alonso told Sky Sport , “Lewis is one of the greatest drivers in our sport and he showed that, especially in McLaren times when they were struggling,” Alonso said at the Brazilian GP.
“For example in 2009 that car wasn’t very good and he was still winning races. Those kind of performances put him at a very high level.”
“The last three championships obviously the Mercedes has been the dominant car so they were a little bit easier, but he deserves the success that he is having now because he showed that talent many, many times.”
“When he battled with [Nico] Rosberg, two championships he really deserved. Last year Rosberg deserved the championship probably and this year Valtteri [Bottas] was a little bit less competition so he was a very well deserved champion.
“Definitely you need the car but I think Lewis deserves his success,” added Alonso who spent a year packed with acrimony and drama as Hamilton’s teammate at McLaren in 2007.