Alonso brands Hamilton 'lucky' in rivalry: But he's still one of the best

The rivalry between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton stretches back to 2007, when the pair were in the same team at McLaren.

It was Hamilton's debut season and Alonso was fresh from his title victories at Renault, in what seamed like a dream coup for the team.

But after falling out spectacularly through the course of the season and Alonso getting caught up in the 'Spygate' scandal, the pair eventually ended that year by going their separate ways.

Alonso did not add any further titles to his name, while Hamilton went on to a successful partnership with Mercedes which yielded a record eight Constructors' titles and a further six Drivers' Championships.

Despite their troubled past, Alonso admits that he still has "respect" for the seven-time champion and is relishing their continued battles on track.

"I have a lot of respect for him. I think at the end of the day, we met in our careers [on] a few occasions," he told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"This year we fight closer together and with similar cars, especially at this part of the year. In Australia, we saw we were within two seconds the whole race and and it was just a close fight."

Alonso: Hamilton made 'lucky' career moves

One of the biggest frustrations about Alonso's career has been his moves to teams, which have often led to disappointing results on track.

The switch back to McLaren during their Honda partnership in 2015 ended in a disaster for Alonso, while he came close to titles with Ferrari between 2010 and 2014.

Alonso claims Hamilton was "lucky" to make career moves that have brought him success and to be in a position to have a dominant car.

"I still think that he is one of the best drivers in the sport, and at the same time he had the luck to have a very dominant car for many years," he said.

"So when you have a dominant car for many years, Michael [Schumacher] won seven [titles], Hamilton won seven, Max [Verstappen] will win three – let's say this year – and how many more we don't know. I won two and in F1 you always need the best car to win the championship.

"If Hamilton had any problem during those years in Mercedes, [Valtteri] Bottas would be five-times World Champion."