5 Noteworthy performances from Fernando Alonso during his second stint at McLaren

#3 The fight with Lewis Hamilton at an epic Mexican GP of 2017

Not many have been able to keep Lewis in check, of late, right?

Sebastian Vettel had grabbed a sensational pole at the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix. He was being pursued by Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, respectively.

But early on in the race, Lewis Hamilton was contacted by the Ferrari of Vettel. Upon the completion of the opening lap, Vettel and Hamilton came together at a tricky corner, Sebastian a bit under pressure and anxious in his attempt to make good for having lost the track position to Max, touching the Mercedes well enough to enforce a puncture.

This resulted in compromising the 2017 World Champion's race. As Hamilton dived into the pits, he was left to play catch up with the better part of the grid, now in front of him.

From the onset of Lap 47 out of 71, with 24 intense laps to go, Hamilton, fast catching up with the frontal end of the grid, was informed on the radio about his realistic position, that being a P8 or P9, at best.

But in what became a closely-fought duel for that position, he had to endure a classy battle with among the most respected drivers on the grid: Fernando Alonso.

On Lap 58, Hamilton cut down the gap between him and Alonso to under six seconds, the McLaren comfortably placed on a P9 with the Briton in hot pursuit.

This battle would eventually turn on its head and therefore, gave a pretty straightforward Mexican Grand Prix of 2017, an exciting ending.

As Hamilton forged his way up, cutting down the gap to Alonso by under a second, going wheel-to-wheel, the fans saw five world championships in one frame.

Alonso didn't allow the faster car and driver, Lewis Hamilton to break ahead and made him work every bit hard for the P9 he had to eventually settle with.

The key highlight of this battle was the move Hamilton made over Alonso around Turn 4 at Mexico on Lap 68, wherein he came from well wide outside the McLaren to pass it, only to see Alonso claw back and hold his position for ninth.