F1 Throwback: Lewis Hamilton Gives Fernando Alonso the Finger at a Press Conference
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The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the beginning of a declining relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. In early 2007, Hamilton earned a promotion to McLaren as the young rising rookie driver. The team paired him up with the highly-rated Fernando Alonso that year.
However, it wasn’t long before sparks began to fly between the two. The Briton and the Spaniard got involved in a bitter ego war and it carried on through the entire season. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen waited for the implosion and he struck in the season finale in Brazil.
Both Hamilton and Alonso went at each other, hammer and tongs all the way. However, things came to a head at the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session.
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How Hungary played a role in the Lewis Hamilton-Fernando Alonso relationship.
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The first two segments of the qualifying session went off without a hitch. Hamilton and Alonso established themselves as threats for the race win. In other words, the battle for pole position was between them and the stage was set.
In Q3, Hamilton was the the first one to venture out on track. Teammate Alonso quickly scrambled up behind him and shadowed the British youngster. Lewis Hamilton set an impressive benchmark below 1:20, before he dove in to prepare for his final run.
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However, Alonso got first dibs in the pit box. Lewis filed in behind to wait for his turn. McLaren held Alonso for around 20 seconds in order to give him a clear run to the line. The idea was to give him a clear track to set a fast lap, Meanwhile, an impatient Hamilton wanted the Spaniard to leave already.
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It soon became, ‘Your wish is my command’, but Alonso only got moving after a further 10 seconds. Lewis Hamilton finally got serviced, but it was too late for him. Alonso had two seconds to spare, while Hamilton missed out by 5 precious seconds.
To further rub it in Hamilton’s face, Fernando Alonso bagged pole and committed daylight robbery. Later on, in the press conference after qualifying, Lewis Hamilton made his feelings known very subtly. In the act of scratching his head, eagle-eyed viewers can see him flipping the bird to Alonso.
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