Lewis Hamilton has compared the current season and his on-track battles with team-mate Nico Rosberg to his rookie campaign when he went up against Fernando Alonso at McLaren.
The pair often fought wheel-to-wheel for victory in 2007 and Hamilton says both the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix this year – where he had to defend hard against Rosberg to remain in the lead – echo his battle with the Spaniard.
“Yes, I think so,” he said when asked if he could draw experience from his time as Alonso’s team-mate.
“The most difficult race with a team-mate was with Fernando in 2007, but Nico’s race with me in Bahrain was as equally tough as that. Then this race [Spain] was probably second to that.”
That relationship famously ended on a sour note, with Alonso departing McLaren after just one year.
Hamilton isn’t expecting his relationship with Rosberg to turn bitter, but he said it couldn’t be ruled out should their rivalry continue.
“It’s not [happened] yet!” he added, “but you never know what can happen.”
