Alonso's future at McLaren uncertain as Hamilton wins again

By Elmar Dreher Aug 6, 2007, 11:18 GMT

Budapest - Lewis Hamilton's third Formula One victory of his rookie season in the Hungarian Grand Prix Sunday may have extended his lead in the drivers' standings to seven points but it came at a price.

The 22-year-old Briton's relationship with his McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Fernando Alonso appears in tatters after a controversial weekend of racing.

First Hamilton broke team orders and blocked Alonso from overtaking him in qualifying before the defending world champion got his own back by hindering Hamilton in the pit lane just long enough so that his rival would be unable to complete a final qualifying lap.

Alonso initially qualified in pole ahead of Hamilton but was subsequently found guilty by race stewards at the Hungaroring of blocking Hamilton in the pit lane and handed a five-place penalty. McLaren were also told that any constructors' points they won would be forfeited.

Hamilton went on to secure a comfortable victory from pole, beating Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen into second place with Alonso coming in fourth.

The double world champion is now seven points behind Hamilton, who admitted after the race that while he still respected Alonso the pair were now no longer on speaking terms.

'I've watched him for the last few years and really admired what he's done, so that doesn't change,' said Hamilton. 'He doesn't seem to have been speaking to me since yesterday, so I don't know if he has a problem.'

Hamilton also revealed that McLaren team principal Ron Dennis was furious he not allowed Alonso to pass in qualifying as planned and that he had apologised to the team for his mistake. But he added that it wasn't for him to rebuild bridges with his team-mate.

'If I walk in and I see him I will speak to him. But I am not going to go looking for him and make him feel better,' said Hamilton.

With Alonso's relationship with Hamilton seemingly beyond repair, rumours have already begun surfacing about a possible early exit from McLaren.

Alonso has a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2008 season but the Guardian reported Monday that he has already told friends and advisers that he has not received the priority treatment he expected as a double world champion.

The Spaniard is now apparently waiting to see if his concerns are addressed in the six remaining races of the season - the next race is the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul on August 26 - before making a decision on his future.

Meanwhile, Spain's Marca newspaper reported Monday that Alonso had given McLaren an ultimatum as to whether it would be supporting Hamilton or him in this year's championship race.

However, Dennis and McLaren have never followed a policy of granting one driver priority status, even though Hamilton is in his first F1 season and Alonso is a double world champion.

'Ron isn't about to change the way he runs his team after 25 years just to accommodate Alonso,' the Guardian quoted a McLaren team- member as saying.

'If he's going to win, then he'll have to beat whoever is his team-mate first.'