It’s all a game of opinion after one point in Formula 1 while comparing world champions. Opinion and the car a particular driver drove during their championship-winning seasons. This is exactly why the ideal hypothetical scenario of “equal machinery” is always brought into such discussions. One rarely gets to witness this hypothetical like we did back in 2007 when rookie Lewis Hamilton beat a two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in equal machinery. How was he able to do that? Well, F1 veteran Peter Windsor has a theory that reveals how Hamilton was quicker than his teammate.

In his latest YouTube video, Windsor discussed the trait of short corners in two drivers. The drivers in focus were Hamilton and two-time champion Mika Hakkinen. According to Windsor both Hamilton and Hakkinen showcased short cornering traits which put them on equal footing in terms of race craft and pace. A trait even Max Verstappen shares as he discussed in an earlier video. According to Windsor, this trait made both world champions “quicker” than Alonso.

“I think they’re pretty dead even. I mean Lewis’s short corner, definitely shorter corners than Mika’s. But Mika was not.. he was out center-ish in the way he drove. So probably, I would say Lewis would just had the edge over Mika, in equal cars,” Windsor expressed his expert opinion. 

He reiterated the minuscule margins and said, “Just, very close though.” However, Windsor felt necessary to weigh Hamilton’s first teammate, Alonso, for comparison as well. He said, “Yeah both quicker than Alonso, I would say.”

This is the reason Max Verstappen is dominating his teammate and this is the reason Hamilton was marginally better than Alonso. Although, there were other factors involved in Hamilton’s triumph over Alonso.

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Lewis Hamilton had the edge over Fernando Alonso even in the rookie season because of two reasons

There was no doubt Hamilton was joining a championship-winning team back in 2007 and driving a championship-worthy car. However, a good car wasn’t the only reason Hamilton dominated his then-McLaren teammate in his rookie season. According to Windsor, Hamilton showcased some incredible pace that Alonso could not keep up with during his rookie season.

He said, “I’m totally aware of how drivers can be locked in a box, and nobody notices their talent until they’re in a winning car. Obviously, with McLaren, it worked out really well [for Hamilton]. First season there, he was shocking Fernando Alonso at how quick he was straight away, and actually doing things a little bit better in his first season in a couple of areas than Fernando. Like high-speed braking. Good example.”

Now even though Alonso might make a special move time and again on Hamilton now. However, during his rookie season, Alonso did not have an answer for Hamilton’s high-speed braking and short cornering.

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