LEWIS HAMILTON reportedly permanently rattled Fernando Alonso when the pair were team-mates at McLaren in 2007.
Spanish star Alonso, 40, raced alongside the Mercedes driver for just one year in what was the latter’s rookie season in Formula One.
Hamilton, who is gearing up for his 16th year in F1, finished the World Championship in second place behind Kimi Raikkonen, while Alonso finished a place behind.
The Alpine ace went into the 2007 season having won the world title in 2005 and 2006 with Ferrari.
And despite finishing with the same amount of points as the British legend, 37, he finished in third after Hamilton boasted more second-placed finishes.
Alonso lasted just one year at McLaren following a number of internal clashes with the seven-time world champion.
Their sour relationship at the time has been highlighted in a biography of Hamilton by journalist Frank Worrall.
The source quoted in the book is an anonymous insider, who has detailed the early states of Hamilton’s career and relationship with former McLaren CEO Ron Dennis.
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Quoted by Marca, the excerpt read: “It caused a lot of commotion when the press said we favoured Lewis because he was British.
“This was a lie; we were a team and owed everything to McLaren. Ron wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“Lewis was unique, he applied himself more than most experience drivers and unlike the rest was touched by a magic wand.
“Alonso was almost always angry.”
The former Renault star acknowledged his rivalry with Hamilton in November, where he remarked: “We talked in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and we were closer than ever in those years.
“We understood that in 2007 we were not very well managed by our bosses.
“Then we were both very young and very competitive and we needed some kind of guidance and we didn’t get it.
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“It was an easy conclusion to make of the 2007 season and we respected each other a lot and understood each other a lot too.
“Now we have this respectful relationship, but maybe it is colder than it used to be.
“We have different opinions on different things. Lewis has a different lifestyle to many of us and that separates us.”
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