Lewis Hamilton F1 team-mate feud ignites after Monaco Grand Prix controversy

Lewis Hamilton in Monaco — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lewis Hamilton F1 team-mate feud ignites after Monaco Grand Prix controversy

The start of the Hamilton vs Alonso feud

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 4 June 2026 20:55

Lewis Hamilton having a bad relationship with his team-mates is not a new thing and it often comes from a game of high stakes involving the Formula 1 world title.

These days his relationship with Charles Leclerc remains positive after over a year together at Ferrari but then both have not even had a glimpse of the title during that time.

Once that becomes a factor then the gloves are off and a harmonious environment can quickly go sour, as it did with McLaren in Hamilton's rookie season in 2007.

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Back then, Hamilton was paired with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, with many expecting the British driver to shadow the brilliant Spaniard in his first year with the team.

But after four races of the season Hamilton was leading the world championship having reeled off four consecutive podiums. By now it was clear Alonso was going to have to defeat Hamilton as well as Ferrari for the world championship.

Despite this, up until that point there wasn't any animosity between Alonso and Hamilton, publicly at the very least. But that was all about to change at the Monaco Grand Prix.

LEWIS HAMILTON: Career record with every pole, win and title

When did the Hamilton vs Alonso feud start

On the surface it was the perfect weekend for McLaren with Alonso taking a one-two victory in front of Hamilton, but a powder keg had been lit.

During the race Alonso led from pole in front of Hamilton but the British driver was pressuring Alonso for the lead and sensed he could pass his team-mate through an overcut in the pitstops. McLaren, fearing not giving their race leader a superior strategy, brought Hamilton in early - much to his chagrin.

After the final round of pit-stops, both McLaren drivers were told to turn their engines down to bring the cars home safely and while Alonso followed orders, Hamilton didn't.

Instead, Hamilton used the opportunity to harass Alonso, trying to force him into an error which in turn then made Alonso turn his engine back up to gap his younger rookie team-mate.

As Steve Hallam, McLaren's head of race engineering at the time, said to Motorsport Magazine: "Fernando said to me ‘I’ll turn mine down when he turns his down.’ Ron then told Lewis’s team to reduce his power, and I think he then actually got on the radio himself."

Hamilton eventually simmered in finishing four seconds behind Alonso, but his true feelings came out in the press conference, admitting 'absolutely' he was trying to force Alonso into a mistake. But when asked how he felt about finishing second, he retorted "Well, that's why I've got a No.2 on my car" referring to Alonso having preferential treatment.

2007 Monaco Grand Prix Results
Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Mercedes	78	1:40:29.329
2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	78	+4.095s
3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	78	+69.114s
4	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	77	+1 lap
5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	77	+1 lap
6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	77	+1 lap
7	Alexander Wurz	Williams Toyota	77	+1 lap
8	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	77	+1 lap
9	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso Ferrari	77	+1 lap
10	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	77	+1 lap
11	Jenson Button	Honda	77	+1 lap
12	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	77	+1 lap
13	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	76	DNF
14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	76	+2 laps
15	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	76	+2 laps
16	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	76	+2 laps
17	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	76	+2 laps
18	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	76	+2 laps
19	Christijan Albers	Spyker Ferrari	70	DNF
NC	Adrian Sutil	Spyker Ferrari	53	DNF
NC	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	17	DNF
NC	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso Ferrari	1	DNF

At this point, team orders were banned in F1 and such was the way the race played out McLaren were put under investigation by the FIA for unsporting conduct. Dennis was comfortable with his actions though, insisting McLaren's race strategy was tactical rather than an act of manipulation.

A team statement said: "We are completely comfortable with the FIA’s investigation into our race strategy and that all decisions taken both before and during the race were completely in compliance with the international sporting code", and they were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso had a turbulent 2007 as McLaren team-mates

McLaren feud only got worse

The Hamilton and Alonso dynamic was all downhill from there. Hamilton won the next race in Canada and by this point Alonso was claiming the team favoured the rookie. The next race in the United States was a role reversal from Monaco as Alonso fumed at McLaren for not allowing him to pass the slower Hamilton.

The McLaren civil war was well under way and the squabble allowed Kimi Raikkonen to sneak past both drivers to take the title by one point.

This weekend Ferrari are favourites to win the Monaco Grand Prix and if a title is on the line, how much longer can the positive Hamilton and Leclerc relationship remain when opportunity knocks at Monte Carlo?

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

F1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Monaco Grand Prix Ron Dennis