Hamilton backs "hardest driver" Alonso defence

Lewis Hamilton has ruled Fernando Alonso's Hungarian Grand Prix defence was "hard" but "fair".

The Mercedes driver was charging back through the field after a strategic error had dropped him to the back when he encountered Alonso.

The pair came millimetres from colliding at turn four before Hamilton eventually made his way past, although Ross Brawn criticised the Briton's "moaning".

On his duel with former McLaren team-mate Alonso, Hamilton said: "Now, looking back on it, it was amazing. It really, really was fantastic.

"I wish the cars could follow closer and excited for what the cars are like next year.

"Hopefully, that eradicates a lot of that bad drafting that we have here. But yeah, it’s a really difficult circuit to overtaken in general, and to follow particularly in that last sector but great, great wheel-to-wheel battles.

"It literally was wheel-to-wheel at least once and yeah… I don’t really have much more to say about it.

"When you’re racing against a two-time World Champion he probably is one of the hardest drivers – but fair."

After scoring his first F1 victory, Esteban Ocon joked with Hamilton saying, "He [Alonso] has to do that to keep you behind!"

"Yeah, I totally get it," responded Hamilton. "I would do the same for my team."

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