Fernando Alonso ‘demanded’ that Lewis Hamilton be blocked from seeing his data at McLaren

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Fernando Alonso unsuccessfully called for an end to data-sharing at McLaren in 2007, his former engineer Mark Slade has revealed.

Alonso joined McLaren on the back of consecutive championships at Renault but academy graduate Lewis Hamilton unexpectedly challenged for that crown.

Hamilton beat Alonso in six of the first 10 races, leading to growing tension and accusations of favouritism behind the scenes.

If Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were in equal machinery for their entire F1 careers, who would have been better?

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Fernando Alonso was ‘very unhappy’ that Lewis Hamilton could see his data

Speaking on Peter Windsor’s YouTube channel, Slade revealed that Alonso was ‘very serious’ about his data being kept private. He felt that the open exchange between the two sides of the garage was only helping newcomer Hamilton.

McLaren predictably refused on the basis that it would harm the team’s overall interests. While they were ultimately thrown out of the constructors’ championship in September due to the spygate scandal, their interests extended beyond the drivers’ title fight.

For Slade, this spoke to Alonso’s overarching unhappiness with his treatment at Woking. After the relationship broke down, he returned to Renault at the end of the year.

“When the situation between Fernando and Lewis was at its worst in 2007, Fernando actually requested – or demanded – that Lewis not be given access to his data,” Slade said.

Was Fernando Alonso’s 2021 comeback worthwhile, or has it ultimately been a waste of time?

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“[He did so] on the basis that he would happily not have access to Lewis’ data. He was quite confident that the advantage was all for Lewis in having access to both cars’ data. It wasn’t granted, obviously.

“Fernando had access to all that information as well, and what he should have done is use that information more effectively to improve his own performance, in my view.

“As an engineer, the more information you have, the better judgements you can make and the faster the team will go. You’re not just beating your teammate, you’re trying to beat all the other cars on the track as well.

“He was very serious about it. He was very, very unhappy about the fact that he didn’t get what he wanted. It just showed how unhappy the whole situation had become.

• READ MORE: Team boss shares the simple reason Fernando Alonso beats Michael Schumacher after working with both

“His demand was a consequence of him feeling that he was being treated unfairly in many other ways as well. It was just one of many factors, and it was his way of, maybe slightly clumsily, trying to correct what he saw as an unfair situation.”

The exact timing of the dispute was unclear, but Slade said it happened around the middle of the season, before the infamous Hungarian Grand Prix pit-lane incident.

While Alonso was viewed as the main agitator externally, Slade insists Hamilton’s camp were also responsible for the fallout.

However, former Ferrari colleague Aldo Costa believes Alonso would have won more titles in F1 if he didn’t try to ‘manipulate’ his teams.