"There’s still needle between" Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, says F1 pundit Martin Brundle

F1 pundit Martin Brundle suspects there is still a fierce rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after the two drivers battled all race long in Monaco. Hamilton found himself behind the Spaniard and was unable to get past his former teammate despite his best efforts.

The Hamilton-Alonso rivalry dates back to 2007 and is still alive in 2022, claims Brundle, who commented on the duo's battle in Monaco. The Briton was stuck behind Fernando Alonso, who allegedly drove at 'F2 speeds' just to hold up his 2007 championship rival. Lewis Hamilton grew increasingly frustrated with the Spaniard's pace and was unable to pass him due to the narrow width of the iconic track. Lando Norris, who ran in front of the pair in P6, got the luxury of an additional pitstop due to the Alpine driver's intentionally slow pace.

Writing in his post-race column for Sky Sports, Martin Brundle commented, saying:

“[Lando] Norris had that luxury of an extra stop because behind him Fernando Alonso went into a steady, but necessary for him, tyre preservation mode with the rest of the field queued up behind him, starting with a very frustrated Lewis Hamilton. ‘That’s not my problem’ said Fernando [Alonso], and you can’t help but sense there’s still a needle between them after their McLaren season as teammates back in 2007.”

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Lewis Hamilton looking forward to removal of Mercedes' 'bouncing problems'

Lewis Hamilton conceded after the 2022 F1 Monaco GP that he was tired of all the bouncing issues that have plagued Mercedes throughout the year. At Sunday's event, these problems got exacerbated due to the track's bumpy nature.

The Briton hopes the car behaves differently at the upcoming Azerbaijan GP in Baku, giving him a chance to show off his true pace in the W13. Hamilton has been unable to fight in front so far in 2022, putting him on the back foot for the rest of the season. He said:

“I’m praying the car doesn’t feel like it does here. This was the worst in this car so far because of the potholes. I’m looking forward to it going away – just my teeth, my jaw moving all the time. I’m done shaking. I don’t know if it’s the porpoising. I hope it’s not what we had in the last race, so I want it to not be a problem. But if there are potholes, then in the corners we can have them.”

Mercedes suffered from bouncing issues throughout the season until the Spanish GP, where the upgrades brought by the team helped remove porpoising to a large extent. The high-downforce nature of Monaco's track, however, stopped the drivers from enjoying a smooth ride in the W13, which is far from fighting with Red Bull and Ferrari so far in 2022.