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Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are the only two F1 drivers currently on the grid over 40, but Nelson Piquet has pinpointed a stark difference between the veteran duo.
Ever since the events of the 2007 F1 season, the rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton has continued to make waves on the race track.
The two world champions locked horns at McLaren that year, during the Briton’s rookie campaign in the sport. Despite Alonso earning 34 times as much money as Hamilton, the teammate battle was neck and neck throughout the entirety of the season.
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Fast forward 19 years, and the two heavyweights of the sport are still butting heads at every opportunity in F1 machinery.
Hamilton’s desire to continue racing in F1 has been under the spotlight since his move to Ferrari last year, and even though Alonso’s future in the sport is still in question, Piquet Jr has outlined a big difference between the two legends’ drive to continue competing.
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Nelson Piquet Jr details the differences in motivation between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton
In an interview with SoyMotor, Alonso’s former Renault teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr, gave his thoughts on what separates Hamilton and the Spaniard during the latter stages of their respective careers in F1.
The Brazilian was critical of Hamilton’s motivation, detailing how the seven-time world champion’s former McLaren counterpart continues to turn up to every race weekend with the same level of drive that he had over 20 years ago.
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He said, “Lewis doesn’t have the love, passion, and hunger that Fernando still has, despite Fernando being older. He is five or six years older than my and Lewis’s generation, yet he has more passion than many of the other drivers; that is very respectable.
“Fernando is similar to Max in that he loves racing. He is a racer and extremely fast. When I was racing with Fernando nearly 20 years ago, he was in his prime and very tough to beat on the weekends.
“Twenty years later, he still has that same hunger. It is admirable because that isn’t easy. You don’t see that same drive in Lewis, for example, but Fernando has more of it than most drivers on the grid. I respect that a lot.
Fernando Alonso has made it clear that he will quit F1 when he loses motivation
Now in his 23rd year of racing in the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport, it remains to be seen how many more campaigns the 44-year-old has in him before calling it a day.
Ahead of pre-season testing, Alonso revealed that Aston Martin have put him under pressure to make a decision on 2027 sooner rather than later, in order to give the team enough time to figure out a suitable replacement for his talents.
The Aston Martin star also detailed that motivation will be a key factor in whether he will hang up his overalls or not. Alonso’s current deal with the Silverstone-based outfit will expire at the end of the current term, so the ball is in his court to pursue another extension.
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