Alonso singles out three rivals for 2018 title

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Fernando Alonso sees himself fighting for the world championship next season alongside Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's drivers.

The McLaren man is confident a power unit change at Woking - from Honda to Renault - will be enough to boost his prospects and lift his performance to become a contender for the title.

While he sees Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo as his major opponents, the Spaniard strangely pushes Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel down the order.

"We’ll put me here on the top," he told Sky Sports when asked to rank next year’s championship contenders.

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"We are very optimistic that next year will be the year we come back to the top.

"Then I will put Lewis as the World Champion now and I’ll put Max, Daniel and then I’ll put second step all these three guys [Raikkonen, Bottas and Vettel]."

The two-time world champion was then asked to rank Hamilton among F1's greats and assess his former McLaren team mate's impressive achievements.

"I think he is one of the greatest, obviously he has won four titles now," said Alonso.

"It is true that the last three titles, the Mercedes’ World Championships were in a dominant car so those are a little bit easier.

"But, I consider him one of the greatest because when he was with McLaren in difficult times he was still performing supreme and still winning races in cars that weren’t in a position to win races.

"He deserves the success because he was always at the top of his level."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.