Abu Dhabi - At a time when their respective fortunes could scarcely be more contrasting, Jenson Button said on Thursday that he believes Fernando Alonso is tougher to beat as a team-mate than Lewis Hamilton was.
Many acknowledge Hamilton and Alonso as the fastest drivers in Formula One, and in the Englishman's rookie season eight years ago his performance against the Spaniard at McLaren established him as a major contender.
On Thursday, however, their moods were very different. Hamilton, now a triple champion who has enjoyed such a spectacular year, was not his usual ebullient self. Whether that was just end-of-season fatigue, or displeasure at team-mate Nico Rosberg's two recent dominant victories, it was hard to tell.
But Alonso, after the season from hell in the underdeveloped McLaren Honda, was upbeat when he could have been forgiven for smashing things in frustration after a campaign that has yielded just 11 points to Hamilton's 363.
It will be the 44th anniversary of the formation of the United Arab Emirates next week, a point not lost on Hamilton who, in car No 44, comes here seeking an apparently elusive 44th career victory.
“This has been the best year of my career and I'm in a very fortunate position, a lot of great work done by my team,” he said. “I'm excited to be here in Abu Dhabi, with the 44th UAE national day and I'm here to try to win that 44th race, so it's cool how it all kind of ties in.”
Hamilton added on his rivalry with Rosberg: “We're going to be racing… the strategists will give us the best… whoever's up ahead will have the best strategy and the guy behind will have the second-best strategy.”
The Independent