Alonso declares Hamilton 'trust' as F1 rivalry renewed

Fernando Alonso has praised Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for their "respectful" Formula 1 racecraft.

The trio are the only World Champions on the grid this season and take up three of the top four positions in the Drivers' standings after the opening eight races of the season.

Having filled the podium at the Australian Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Verstappen was again joined by Aston Martin's Alonso and Mercedes' Hamilton at the Canadian Grand Prix, with the latter two embroiled in battle early in the race.

A slow start for Alonso allowed Hamilton by into Turn 1, though the pace of his AMR23 ultimately paid dividends with a DRS-assisted move after the first round of pit stops.

Alonso and Hamilton have a fiery past ever since their falling-out at McLaren in 2007, with a clash at the Belgian Grand Prix last season leading to further tension between the pair.

But an underlying respect remains between the two champions, with Verstappen also brought into the equation given his brilliance of late.

A lot of respect

"I really enjoy these battles and these podiums," Alonso told media, including RacingNews365.com, after Canadian Grand Prix.

"There is a lot of respect, a lot of talent when you fight against Max and Lewis, you know that you cannot make a mistake because they will take advantage of that, and they will not make a mistake.

"So, if you want to beat them, you need to be tenth-after-tenth, fastest to close that gap. It's not anything that will benefit.

"It's a very intense battle, very fair, very respectful, even in the overtaking possibility that we had on the DRS when I passed Lewis, you know that you can trust what he's doing – he will defend hard but within the limits.

"I guess [it's the] same at the start, when you start in the first two rows with these guys, you know that there's a sense of awareness and respect that it's not sometimes in other parts."