Hamilton rival admits seven-time champ still 'faster than ANYONE'

Fernando Alonso has said that Lewis Hamilton is 'faster than anyone' on the Formula 1 grid.

The words came after Hamilton signed a new contract with his Mercedes team, keeping him in the sport until at least the end of the 2025 season.

It means that the seven-time world champion will be racing into his 40s, just like Alonso is at 42 years old, and it gives him a chance of claiming an eighth world championship title and becoming the most successful F1 driver of all time.

READ MORE: Hamilton SIGNS new Mercedes contract as Russell also agrees new deal

Two-time world champion Alonso is himself enjoying a resurgence in F1 with his new Aston Martin team, claiming seven podiums in the first 13 races of the season, and establishing himself as the closest challenger to Red Bull's dominance in 2023.

Talking about Mercedes' decision to renew Hamilton's contract, he told Mundo Deportivo, "I have never seen any rally, MotoGP or F1 team choose the slowest between two drivers.

"It continues to be so. If I were the team boss now and I had to choose Hamilton or the youngest on the grid or a promising F2 driver, well I'll stay with Hamilton until I'm 80 years old, because until someone shows me that he's faster than Hamilton."

Alonso an unlikely Hamilton fan?

Hamilton may not have been expecting such kind words from Alonso, not least because the two were embroiled in a fierce rivalry during their time together at McLaren.

McLaren signed Alonso in 2007, off the back of his consecutive world championships with Renault. Hamilton, meanwhile, was a rookie racing in his first season in F1 alongside Alonso.

Of course, this made Alonso feel as though he was the number one driver and the McLaren team should be prioritising his bid to win a third world championship. However, Hamilton's performances began to outshine Alonso, and it soon became clear that Hamilton was just as much of a contender for the 2007 championship as Alonso.

This led to tension between the two that often spilled out onto the racetrack, and Alonso fell out with his team. In the end, both Hamilton and Alonso finished on 109 points, one point behind eventual world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

From his latest comments, it doesn't seem as though Alonso holds any grudges against Hamilton.

"So age is a problem and you see demotivation or you see that you are no longer at 100% of your performance or your focus and your concerns are other than F1,

"But yes, in the case of Hamilton, who continues to perform at 100% and his only life and concern is F1, as can be the case with me too. When someone faster comes, we'll talk, but at the moment Hamilton is faster than anyone," he added.

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