Max Chilton thinks Alonso is better than Hamilton

Former Formula One driver Max Chilton believes that Lewis Hamilton is not the best driver on the circuit at the moment despite recently claiming his fourth world championship, as Fernando Alonso is the competitor with the most talent behind the wheel in the sport.

Chilton was seen as a promising prospect in F1 when he burst on to the scene a few years ago, but the talent didn't transfer into points places, which led him to join the IndyCar series instead.

He has raced against the best in the world including Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Rosberg, but Alonso is the driver whose talents he appreciates the most, with the Spaniard nearly winning an IndyCar test race.

"I’ve always rated Alonso as one of the best drivers on the F1 grid if not the best, so I know he is incredibly talented and talented people learn quickly,” Chilton told the Daily Mail.

"But he did pick it [IndyCar racing] up quicker than I thought he was going to.

"I know some people made comments about him making it look how easy it is. I think it is good for IndyCar that he didn’t win because it would have made us all look a bit stupid.

"But he said some really nice things about how challenging it was and how brave we all are and how he wants to go back to win. So he did a big favour for IndyCar by coming over and racing."

Chilton went on to lament the current state of F1 as he thinks the top teams such as Ferrari and Mercedes have engines with too much power on the grid, making it very uncompetitive.

"The problem Formula One has got at the moment is there is a four-second gap between the lead car and the back car and that's not really sport," he added added.

"Sport should pretty much be a level playing field or as close to possible.

"Motorsport is never going to be like that, it's impossible, but IndyCar next year is going to be as near a one-make series than they have done.

"Everyone has the same aero kit and there is very little difference between the engines and the racing should be even closer next year."