Alonso ‘had to fight alone’ as Villeneuve revisits Hamilton rivalry that ‘destroyed the team’
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in a press conference at the 2007 British Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso had to “fight back” against an unfair dynamic alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2007 – even if it ended up “destroying” the McLaren team.
That is the claim of Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, who says then-team boss Ron Dennis “unbalanced” the team by favouring Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso ‘had to fight back’ against Lewis Hamilton favouritism in 2007
Alonso arrived at McLaren as F1’s reigning two-time World Champion in 2007, partnering a 22-year-old rookie in the shape of Hamilton.
Despite pre-season expectations that Alonso would have the upper hand, the pair finished level on points with four victories apiece.
However, both drivers missed out on the title to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who claimed his only World Championship by a single point at the season finale in Brazil.
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The rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton proved explosive and came to a head at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Alonso delayed his departure from the pit box to prevent Hamilton from setting a final qualifying lap.
Alonso was handed a five-place grid penalty and could only recover to fourth on race day, costing him valuable points as Hamilton took victory in Budapest.
That weekend took place against the backdrop of the infamous ‘Spygate’ saga, which resulted in McLaren receiving a record $100million fine and being excluded from the 2007 Constructors’ standings.
Appearing on the Red Flags podcast, Villeneuve leapt to his former Renault team-mate’s defence, claiming that Alonso had to “fight back” once it became clear that Dennis was favouring Hamilton.
Put to him that Hamilton effectively beat Alonso by finishing ahead on countback in 2007, Villeneuve said: “You also have to take into account that McLaren signed him, or Ron Dennis signed him, as a double World Champion.
“He did it for the sponsors and all that.
“Then he announced Hamilton [and said]: ‘OK, Hamilton is our champion. We don’t like you, Fernando.’
“Excuse me?
“When a team boss unbalances internally a team like that, you have to fight back and that’s what happened.
“Alonso was not in a fair field at that point and he had to fight his own battle alone in the team.
“That actually destroyed the team ultimately.”
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Alonso and McLaren parted company at the end of that season with the Spaniard rejoining Renault for the 2008 campaign.
He fell narrowly short of adding a third title to his collection with Ferrari in 2010 and 2012 before rejoining McLaren in 2015.
Alonso, now of Aston Martin, reflected on his 2007 stint with McLaren in an interview with the Mail in 2023, claiming that his position at the team was made untenable when Dennis declared that he was Hamilton’s main enemy at the penultimate race of that season in China.
He said: “We had a difficult season [in 2007], but we respected what the other was doing on track and still do.
“We each consider the other to be a talented driver and one of the toughest competitors we have ever met.
“The situation that season was not well-managed by our bosses. We were young. We were immature.
“We were many of the things we are not now and we needed help from the management that we didn’t get.
“I couldn’t continue with McLaren. It was a team with eyes totally one side of the garage.
“As Ron said after the penultimate race in China: ‘Our race isn’t with [Ferrari driver Felipe] Massa, it is with Fernando.’
“When your team says that, you cannot continue. But you learn in a career.”
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