F1 News: Fernando Alonso Disputes Lewis Hamilton's Influence On Mercedes

Fernando Alonso offers credit to the timing of regulations that helped Mercedes the most during its era of glory.

Fernando Alonso strongly refutes claims of drivers building teams. Rather, the Aston Martin driver holds the timing of the regulations responsible for the success of different teams across Formula 1 by citing Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' example. He talks about how they reigned supreme until a change of regulations came about, causing them to be overtaken by Max Verstappen and Red Bull. 

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and from the following season, Mercedes went on to win eight constructors' championships and seven drivers' championships between 2014 and 2021. 

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In 2021, when the ground effect rules kicked in, there was a change in the trend as Red Bull's Max Verstappen took over the championship 'winning duties' after his controversial Grand Prix victory in Abu Dhabi. 

In 2022, Verstappen continued his dominance through the RB18 Red Bull F1 car, helping him secure his second world title. This year, while he is on his way to securing his third title, Alonso claims that it isn't the drivers who build teams and change championship scenarios but, it is the result of the ever-changing regulations. Being in the right place and at the right time is what matters most. 

Speaking to The Telegraph, Alonso said:

“I think this is something that is always said about drivers ‘building’ team, but when Lewis went to Mercedes [in 2013], he didn’t ‘build’ anything. It was just a change in regulations [in 2014] that built everything for him.

"And when Max joined Toro Rosso and Red Bull it was still Hamilton winning everything. He didn’t ‘build’ a winning Red Bull team. In 2021 it was very close between them, and now with the change in regulations last year, Red Bull win every race so far this season.

"So I don’t know exactly what we mean when we say you can ‘build’ teams around you because I think this is a sport where, you know, technical decisions, technical regulations, inspiration from the design office or wind tunnel or something like that normally makes more difference than your input, your feedback, your personality, or your way of driving.”

"Ultimately, you just need to be in the right place at the right moment.”

Switching from Alpine to Aston Martin this year has proven to be an excellent decision for the Spaniard. Despite the short break in his career, the 42-year-old driver is third in the drivers' standings this season.