Alonso: Lewis will succumb to the pressure

The Double Formula 1 World Champion has not yet completed a full season after returning to top flight, yet he has already started to shoot out headline-grabbing quotes.

His latest quote related to the fascinating title fight the sport is witnessing this season between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, hints that the Spaniard is not really over his infamous 2007 season at McLaren when he shared the team garage with the rookie-at-the-time Hamilton.

Everyone knows how that season unfolded, with Alonso returning to Renault after that solitary season at Woking, as Kimi Raikkonen stole the title from the squabbling McLaren drivers.

The 40-year-old driver's latest comments were said during an interview with De Telegraaf, and was asked about how Hamilton is dealing with the pressure this year.

"Do I think Lewis will succumb to the pressure? Yes, thanks to Max. 100 percent," Alonso claimed.

"When Lewis only has to fight with his teammate Valtteri Bottas for the title, everything is great," he went on. "Now he feels some pressure and he gets into trouble."

The veteran of 329 grands prix has recently been vocal about doubles standards in F1 when looking into drivers' transgressions on track, hinting that nationality plays a role.

When facing the media ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix in October, the Alpine driver was asked on the manner in which he navigated the run-off areas without receiving a penalty in the previous race in Russia.

"[I did it] just to confirm that when I do things, they have a different behaviour and a different repercussion on the following event," was his answer to the convened media.

"Now, maybe they change the run-off area in Lap 1, in the first couple of corners."

Alonso went on: "I've been the idiot on track for most of the championship, while I've been overtaken from outside of the asphalt by many people in the first couple of races.

"Even in Austria – 'Austria 1' and 'Austria 2' – nothing happened, and there were no questions in the following races.

"Now, after Sochi, there is a question, so it's a confirmation," the Spaniard deduced.

When pushed to clarify he said: "It's a confirmation of many things."

"One that there are different rules for different people, or different let's say, talks, the week after for different people, he explained.

"Let's see the next one that crosses the white line on the pit entry, let's see which nationality he is and which penalty he will get," Alonso said clearly hinting at what Lando Norris did whilst entering the pits in Sochi, and was not penalized.

In his interview with De Telegraaf, the Spaniard re-visited the same subject from the 2021 title fight angle.

"Then you see during this season that that British machine starts running again," he pointed out. "Max handles that very well. It's a very interesting championship, also off the track."

The winner of 32 grands prix gave his view on how the on-track clashes of the two title protagonists, namely Monza and Silverstone, were dealt with.

"Look at the two incidents between Max and Lewis, this year," Alonso said.

"Those are not judged equally in my opinion," he insisted. "After the contact in Silverstone, Red Bull intervened, but otherwise it remained fairly quiet.

Moving on to the Monza incident where Verstappen's RB16B ended on top of Hamilton's W12, Alonso said: "After the crash in Monza there was much more talk.

"And Max got a grid penalty for the next race. I don't think anyone understood that. But that's also part of that pressure from certain corners," the WEC champion said, hinting at foul play behind the sport's scenes.

However, Alonso knows good driving when he sees it, and he appreciates this year's title rivals' on-track feats.

"I respect enormously what both Max and Lewis are achieving," he acknowledged. "They are at their top level every weekend.

But then spared some praise for Verstappen saying: "Whether it's wet, dry or very windy. The way Max stepped in at Red Bull and was right there, I don't think anyone is capable of doing that."

The driver who has won his two F1 Championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, dethroning the King of that era, German legend Michael Schumacher, has called it time on his career in top flight for the first time at the end of the 2018 season after four frustrating seasons with a struggling McLaren team, where he spent his time toiling around in the back of the grid, despite consistently outperforming the inferior equipment at his disposal.

After a two-season absence, spent racing in WEC, IndyCar, and rallying, Alonso was back with Alpine F1 Team (the rebranded Renault F1 team), and didn't waste time getting up to speed, and was putting in his signature feisty performances in no time, his robust defense on Lewis Hamilton in Hungary in the much slower A521 this year being a highlight.

But he also didn't waste any time getting up to speed with the politics of F1, but that's Fernando Alonso after all.