Fernando Alonso believes Nico Rosberg will have his work cut out for him at Mercedes for the rest of the season now that Lewis Hamilton has the wind in his back.
Alonso spent a year at McLaren as Hamilton's team mate in 2007 and experienced firsthand what it is like to go up against the British driver when the momentum is in his stride.
Speaking to Spanish radio COPE, Alonso said that the defending world champion is now his favourite to take this year's title while Rosberg cannot afford any mistakes.
“Hamilton is in a good position,” the Spaniard said. “He has the momentum coming from behind and in this sport, when you are coming from behind and you can catch the leader, you have something extra.
“And it's the opposite for the driver who was leading and had a bit of an advantage: they catch you, they overtake you and you go into a mini crisis.
“So even though they are close on points, now Hamilton looks stronger and a better contender.”
The bickering which opposed Hamilton and Rosberg after last Sunday's Hungarian GP over a controversial call by the stewards about how the German dealt with yellow flags during qualifying reminded Alonso of an episode which opposed him to Hamilton at the Hungaroring in 2007.
Back then, the Spaniard had been penalised for having blocked his team mate in the pits, and preventing Hamilton from achieving a last ditch effort in qualifying.
“Yeah, it reminds me of things as well. Let's say Rosberg doesn't have an easy teammate,” Alonso added.
“In that sense he's very strong on track, very fast, he never makes a mistake. And off the track he has significant influence. Good luck to Rosberg with that!
“He can't make a mistake anywhere because apart from being one of the best in the world, he can feel the pressure off the track as well.”
Scene at the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungarian Grand Prix - Quotes of the week
DRIVER RATINGS: Hungarian Grand Prix
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
