Lewis Hamilton is back in the title race after winning in Brazil and Qatar this month, but his former team-mate has argued that he should start from the bottom of the grid for now
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Sir Frank Williams will be driven by Lewis Hamilton in 2019
Fernando Alonso despised Lewis Hamilton’s recent resurgence by claiming his former team-mate should start from the bottom of the grid.
Hamilton’s World Cup hopes seemed to be fading ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix this month when Mercedes decided to change its car’s internal combustion engine unit (ICU) – marking a fifth engine change of the season.
According to the current Formula 1 rules, drivers are allowed to use three different engines over the course of the season without penalty, but anything beyond that will result in a penalty.
At the Turkish Grand Prix in October, the seven-time world champion accepted a 10-place penalty after a fourth engine change and said at the time he was confident that no further changes would be necessary for the rest of 2021.
Fernando Alonso thinks Lewis Hamilton should start from the bottom of the grid right now
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Image:
GETTY)
However, Mercedes then decided to switch intensive care units again in Sao Paulo, which meant a fifth starting place penalty for Hamilton and which apparently took a big blow on his hopes of chasing Max Verstappen.
The risk paid off, however, as Hamilton used his extra strength to storm from tenth on the grid and capture the checkered flag in one of his biggest wins.
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He asserted the upper hand in Qatar with a dominant performance from first place on the grid and reduced Verstappen’s lead in the overall standings to just eight points before the last two races in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
The Red Bull man has since argued that Hamilton’s starting penalty in Brazil was insufficient given the ease with which he drove through the field.
The couple are known to have feuded at McLaren in 2007
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Image:
AFP / Getty Images)
And his words have now been echoed by Alonso, who got acquainted with the British driver in 2007, Hamilton’s debut season, when the two teammates were at McLaren.
“Those who have exceeded a certain number of engines per year should be sent to the end of the grid,” the alpine driver told the Spanish AS.
The two-time world champion himself had a good race in Qatar and took his first podium since 2014, although he was well behind Hamilton and Verstappen in front of him.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has dubbed the new engine “spicy gear” and has already said that he believes the recent change can boost Hamilton again this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
It is believed that the design of the new route in Jeddah favors the currently superior straight-ahead speed of the “Silver Arrows”.
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The post Fernando Alonso demands severe punishment from Lewis Hamilton after the fifth engine change first appeared on monter-une-startup.
