Fernando Alonso accused of "lingering bitterness" towards Lewis Hamilton

Ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert has claimed that Fernando Alonso is supportive of Max Verstappen due to a “lingering bitterness” from the Spaniard towards Lewis Hamilton after their time together at McLaren.

Alonso has been vocal in his support for Verstappen over the years.

The Aston Martin driver lauded Verstappen during last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix for his sensational pole lap.

Alonso described Verstappen’s lap at Suzuka as a “magical moment” and suggested no other driver on the grid could have repeated the Dutchman’s feat in qualifying.

Alonso also said after the race that Verstappen’s underdog heroics reminded him of his 2012 title bid after winning the Japanese GP.

When driving for Ferrari, Alonso famously fought for the title until the final race despite never having the quickest car.

However, Herbert thinks that Alonso’s backing of Verstappen is linked to his poor relationship with Hamilton.

Speaking to PokerFirma, Herbert said: “I understand why Fernando Alonso is very supportive of Max Verstappen. Max and Fernando haven’t been teammates. Lewis and Fernando have been teammates.

”It was a two-time world champion in Alonso who was full of confidence at the top of his game at McLaren in 2007. He expected Hamilton as the young whippersnapper, to be easily beatable.

“And it didn’t happen that way. So then that fight happened that season harmed the relationship at the end of the day from that point on. Purely because Lewis came in with a mighty bang and Alonso didn’t have it all his own way. And he’s probably still got a lingering bitterness because of what happened at McLaren.

“I get that as a driver. You do get frustrated when you fully believe that you can do the job, and he probably felt he wasn’t supported as much as he felt he should have been by Ron Dennis.

“So anyway, respect to Max. He’s the guy that’s delivering even when he went into a weekend saying, ‘I’ve got no chance.’”

Lewis Hamilton beats Fernando Alonso in his rookie season

Hamilton and Alonso went head-to-head at McLaren in 2007.

While Hamilton was just a rookie - and Alonso the reigning world champion - the pair proved to be one of the most explosive driver lineups in F1 history.

The duo ended the season level on points - 109 each - but one point behind Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ championship.

Hamilton finished ahead of Alonso in the drivers’ championship courtesy of countback.

It was a controversial season for McLaren with accusations of favouritism.

Alonso took matters into his own hands at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix.

He deliberately left his pit box late in qualifying, meaning that Hamilton couldn’t get back out on track to get a fast time.

It would let Alonso take pole, although he was hit with a grid penalty.

McLaren were also disqualified from the constructors’ standings after they were found guilty of possessing Ferrari's intellectual property.

They were fined $100 million by the FIA.