Hamilton belittles Alonso with taunting tweet after title slur

Lewis Hamilton has responded in kind to Fernando Alonso's remarks this week that appeared to demean the value of the Mercedes driver's seven F1 championships.

In an interview with Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Alonso had suggested Hamilton's title triumphs did not carry as much weight as the two of Max Verstappen as they had been won with only his team-mate as a rival

"This year Max is very dominant and he could cruise to the world title," said Alonso.

"Last season it was different. I thought he performed better than Lewis in the end and therefore I think he is a worthy champion.

"I also have a lot of respect for Lewis. However, it is different when you win seven world titles, when you have only had to fight with your team-mate.

"Then I think a championship has less value than when you have fewer titles, but against other drivers, you have had to contend with equivalent or even better equipment."

In response, Hamilton has issued a simple tweet, showing him and Alonso on a podium from their contentious 2007 season, and with the Briton looking down on the Spanish driver. He also simply added a 'thumbs up' emoji.

?? pic.twitter.com/8L8W5j0gld

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 30, 2022

Alonso did attempt to distance himself from his remarks to De Telegraaf in a tweet of his own shortly after the article was published.

He wrote: "And again...

"Please, all the titles are amazing, well deserved and inspiring. Incomparable to each other and let's enjoy champions and legends of our current time.

"Tired of the continuous search for headlines. Let's enjoy them."

In fairness to Hamilton, he won his first title in 2008 by only a point from Felipe Massa in one of the most dramatic endings to an F1 season in the sport's history.

As for his six title triumphs with Mercedes, whilst in four of those he was dominant, in 2017 and 2018, he went head to head with Sebastian Vettel, then at Ferrari.

The German driver was twice in command of the championship, only for Hamilton to surge to title victory in both years with late winning runs.