Ron Dennis recalls Fernando Alonso’s astonishing reply on learning Lewis Hamilton news - “Don't you want to win the Constructors' Championship?”

Ron Dennis recently said former world champion Fernando Alonso was agitated upon being paired with a debutant Lewis Hamilton in 2007. Speaking with Formula Passion, the former McLaren CEO recalled the time the British outfit signed the rookie Lewis Hamilton and the two-time defending champion Fernando Alonso.

Alonso, fresh off his second straight world championship victory in 2006, signed a three-year deal with the then Ron Dennis-owned McLaren F1. The Spaniard, however, was paired alongside the GP2 champion Lewis Hamilton, a decision that ruffled Alonso's feathers.

Reminiscing his conversation with the now-Aston Martin driver, Dennis said:

"I turned to Fernando and said: 'By the way, I've decided to put Lewis in the other car.' He thought about it for a while and said to me: 'Don't you want to win the Constructors' Championship?' He didn't think that Lewis would be a threat or that he would score many points, but it's something that I remember and that makes me laugh because it was clear from the first moment how wrong Fernando was."

Dennis added:

"It was very simple. Alonso didn't expect Hamilton to be so competitive in his first year. At the beginning of 2007 he told me that I had decided to sign a rookie like Lewis, but that he would cost McLaren the Constructors' Championship. Fernando was calculating everything, but not the fact that Lewis would put him in difficulty."

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What was the controversy in Lewis Hamilton's first season alongside Fernando Alonso?

The ensuing 2007 season proved to be one of the most dramatic and controversial chapters in Formula 1 history. Contrary to Alonso's expectations, Hamilton emerged as a formidable competitor, challenging both Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen throughout the season.

However, the Hamilton-Alonso partnership was marred by on-track clashes and off-track controversies, including the infamous espionage scandal and the tense moments during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Another dramatic episode unfolded following the 2007 Monaco GP, when Lewis Hamilton claimed he had been forced into a "supporting role" to Alonso.

Despite these incidents, both drivers excelled on the track that season. Leading up to the season finale in the Brazilian GP, both Hamilton and Alonso were in contention for the 2007 F1 drivers' championship, with 107 and 103 points respectively.

However, it wasn't meant to be for either of the McLaren drivers, as Raikkonen snatched the 2007 title from their hands. Fernando Alonso parted ways with McLaren at the end of the season. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, went on to win the 2008 F1 drivers' championship with McLaren, becoming the youngest world champion in the process.