Hamilton claims data sharing is "unfair"; Alonso hints that Brit could have won title off Rosberg if he was checking data
Saturday 25 February 2017 14:48, UK
Fernando Alonso says Lewis Hamilton's complaints about data sharing in Formula 1 were "strange", and joked that the Brit should have paid more attention to Nico Rosberg's during the German's championship-winning season.
Hamilton has criticised the use of data sharing in recent weeks, claiming it was "unfair" that a team-mate should be able to analyse his braking points and driving line to improve his own performance.
"I go out, do my laps, do all my homework and the other guy can see everything," Hamilton said in a UBS Facebook Q&A. "I have asked my team [about it]."
Hamilton: Zero problems with Merc or Bottas
The three-time world champion has since insisted he wasn't aiming the negative comments at Mercedes or new team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
But Alonso, who partnered Hamilton at McLaren in 2007, took exception to his remarks - and claimed the Briton might have won the title instead of Rosberg last season if he was checking the data.
"He said many times that he was learning from the data," Alonso said at the launch of McLaren's new MCL32.
"Mercedes are one of those teams that are using more of the data between the engineers to help the drivers, so he said something that was a little bit strange.
"If he was watching more data from Rosberg last year, maybe he would have won the championship!"
Though Bottas will be Hamilton's team-mate in 2017, Alonso admits he was contacted about replacing Rosberg in a Silver Arrow, with talks not progressing thanks to the Spaniard's one year remaining on his McLaren contract.
Referencing Rosberg's retirement and whether he was surprised, the 35-year-old added: "I respect his decision, but if you are winning, you have that adrenaline, that final result you work for the year for in Formula 1... in my case I cannot stop. it's like a drug."
The first F1 pre-season test starts on Monday February 27 and the Sky Sports F1 Digital team will be providing live commentary from dawn until dusk on all four days while Sky Sports News HQ will also deliver live updates from trackside.