Spanish Media Stir Up Alonso-Hamilton Feud

We know that rivalries in Formula One do nothing but increase the show in the series, and having two drivers that take it to the next level every once in a while actually makes the sport more human and, consequently, more attractive. However, the Spanish media have taken it a bit too far this week, trying to revive the animosity between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Needless to say, we have all witness the frustration showed by Alonso after finishing 8th in the European Grand Prix at Valencia. He felt like he was robbed of a potentially podium finish, while Hamilton broke the rules of safety car and eventually finished second. A couple of days after the Spaniard made those comments, the media turned to the McLaren driver for a reaction.

Ham was quoted as saying yesterday that Alonso suffered from “sour grapes” after the Spanish race, but a report from the GMM news agency suggested that he didn't actually said those words. Instead, a Spanish reporter asked him such a question, and the Brit answered “yeah”.

The Spanish media made one step further and reported that Hamilton actually uttered the word “envy” ("envidia"), accusing Alonso of being envious of Ham's great finish. Also, when the British driver expressed his surprise when seeing Alonso overtaken by Kamui Kobayashi in the final laps of the race, he said it was “very unlike him to be overtaken by a Sauber so he must have been completely in another world.”

Instead, the Spanish media suggested Hamilton said Alonso “vive en otro mundo” (living in another world), so the headline present in the El Mundo newspaper earlier this week was combined into “Alonso tiene envidia y debe vivir en otro mundo” (Alonso is envious and must live in another world). Rival Spanish publication AS piggybacked on that headline, responding “Hamilton: por que no te callas?” (Hamilton: why don't you shut up?).