Hamilton and Alonso show 15-year-old "needle" still exists

Alonso and Hamilton in Monaco — Photo: © LAT Images

Lewis Hamilton - Fernando Alonso

Hamilton and Alonso show 15-year-old "needle" still exists

Alonso held up a frustrated Hamilton in Monaco

Ian Parkes

Thursday 2 June 2022 08:00

Martin Brundle feels there is still needle between old rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton after watching what unfolded during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Following a red-flag period during which the barriers were repaired at the swimming pool complex following a horrific hit that split Mick Schumacher's Haas in two, Alonso then drove at a pedestrian pace in order to preserve the tyres on his Alpine.

With Hamilton behind him in eighth position, and on a dry circuit, the seven-time F1 champion was unable to find a way past in his Mercedes as Alonso became a moving roadblock, leading to the Briton airing his frustration over the team radio.

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Following the race, Alonso appeared to take great delight in the fact it was old 2007 McLaren team-mate Hamilton he had kept behind him, describing it as "extremely easy" to do so.

Writing in his Sky Sports column, Brundle said: "Fernando went into a steady, but necessary for him, tyre preservation mode with the rest of the field queued up behind him, starting with a very frustrated Lewis.

"'That's not my problem' said Fernando, and you can't help but sense there's still needle between them after their McLaren season as team-mates back in 2007.

"Fernando then bizarrely took off for a while and did the third fastest lap of the race to retain seventh place."

Schumacher given "hairdryer treatment"

Schumacher's crash was his second heavy hit of the season after his VF-22 also fell apart during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

In a car that has proven itself good enough to score points in the hands of team-mate Kevin Magnussen, Schumacher is still to break his points duck in F1.

With the accidents also piling up in a year when the budget cap is tight - or in Haas' case its own budget is limited - Brundle feels Schumacher may have felt the full force of team principal Guenther Steiner.

"It was a day to forget for Schumacher who alarmingly tore his car in two pieces for yet more damage repair bills for the Haas team," added Brundle.

"I can imagine he's getting the full 'hairdryer treatment' from team boss Gunther Steiner in the style of an angry Ken Tyrrell or Alex Ferguson."