Guenther Steiner says Fernando Alonso made ‘ego’ change to become more like Lewis Hamilton

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Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have been rivals ever since the latter entered the sport in 2007. They were teammates at McLaren that year, but their relationship quickly deteriorated.

After one of the most remarkable seasons in recent F1 history, Alonso and Hamilton finished level on points. Both of them were one behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who mounted an all-time great comeback to snatch the title.

With the Hamilton partnership untenable, Alonso left to rejoin Renault in 2008, clearing the way for the Briton to win his first championship. Soon after, Sebastian Vettel emerged as F1’s dominant force.

Hamilton and Alonso still periodically battled in that era, with the Spaniard now racing for Ferrari, but Vettel was their true target. Alonso lost out to the Red Bull superstar at the final race in both 2010 and 2012.

Indeed, change just three results, and he’d be a five-time world champion, far closer to Hamilton’s tally of seven. Many struggle to separate the two when it comes to talent.

Alonso took a gamble at the end of 2014 when he returned to McLaren ahead of their Honda alliance. Four disastrous seasons later, he retired, before a 2021 comeback with Alpine and a move to Aston Martin.

Guenther Steiner says Fernando Alonso has learned how to control his ‘ego’ like Lewis Hamilton

Writing in his book, Unfiltered, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner shared the change he’d noticed in Alonso in his second stint in F1. He’s apparently learned how to properly manage his ‘ego’.

Having won two titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, Alonso didn’t take well to the arrival of golden boy Hamilton. At one infamous race in Hungary, he deliberately waited in his pit box to deny his teammate another lap before the chequered flag in qualifying.

Now, though, Alonso’s conduct is ‘immaculate’ and his sole focus is on maximising his own performance on the track. Steiner says the 43-year-old reminds him of Hamilton in that sense.

“This is just my opinion, but in addition to winning the World Endurance Championship while he was out of Formula 1 and becoming a two-time Le Mans winner, Fernando learned how to make his ego work for him, which perhaps he did not do so well in the years before,” Steiner wrote. “And look at him now.

“He’s quiet, self-assured and conducts himself immaculately, which means he can put all of his emotional and physical energies into being brilliant on the track. He’s very much like Lewis Hamilton in that respect.”

The incident that suggests Guenther Steiner may be wrong about Fernando Alonso

There are still moments where one question Alonso’s behaviour. The US Grand Prix Sprint will spring to mind for many.

Alonso angrily confronted Liam Lawson, a newcomer at RB, because he wasn’t happy with his aggressive driving. In his defence, drivers are often seen intensely debating incidents in parc ferme.

Perhaps the bigger issue was that Alonso tried to sabotage Lawson in qualifying by slowing him down on his out-lap. That was a flashback to his pre-retirement days.

On the other hand, Alonso’s fans would prefer to focus on his valiant display at the Sao Paulo GP. He didn’t manage to score points, but he drove through intense back pain in his bouncing Aston Martin to thank the mechanics for repairing his car after a qualifying shunt.