Is Hamilton the new Alonso?

Lewis Hamilton refused to quash rumours of a switch from McLaren to Mercedes this weekend and after dominating the Monza Grand Prix his management team are in a strong negotiating position.

Martin Whitmarsh, team principle of McLaren, was far more committal after the race and when pressed confirmed that the team wanted Hamilton to remain with the Woking based outfit. The complications seem to be coming from the management company looking after Lewis Hamilton, XIX, a Martin Fuller vehicle. They are aggressively trying to market their young racer, one of the most exciting and temperamental in the sport, and feel that the British McLaren company is not a large enough brand to help transform Hamilton into a celebrity outside of F1.

Mercedes are a European heavyweight and would guarantee Hamilton more global recognition and further increase income via a basic salary and commercial aspects. Since their return to the sport three years ago, Mercedes have only picked up one race victory so in terms of race performance the switch would appear a negative one. The lure appears to be a wish to build Mercedes around Hamilton, as Ferrari did with Michael Schumacher in 1996, and re-establishing the sleeping giants as a dominant force in the Formula One world.

Hamilton would clearly be afforded the number one driver status if he moved to Mercedes to join his close friend Nico Rosberg and the 2008 World Champion must have watched Fernando Alonso race with envy as  he thrives when he is teams main driver. Alonso became the (then) youngest double World Champion in 2006 driving for Renault and as the number one driver at Ferrari has continued to impress, despite a under performing car. McLaren are famous for their reluctance to issue team orders and favour one driver over the other, so a switch to become lead driver could be Hamilton's motivation.

Despite their fleeting and acrimonious season together at McLaren in 2007, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have more in common than is at first obvious. The Spaniard, at 31, is four years older than Hamilton and for all the performance that Alonso is extracting from the Ferrari it is worth remembering that in previous years he courted several controversies.

The Spaniard has been accused of 'brake testing' his rivals on several occasions, a move which forces them off the track in order to avoid a collision of Alonso's making. His season at McLaren was controversial and issues came to a head when Alonso delayed his then team mate, Hamilton, meaning he did not have enough time to complete a 'flying' lap. Hamilton and his father appealed after the FIA and McLaren had initially taken no action and the team were docked all of their points from the weekend.

This astonishing inter-team rivalry reared its head in the Spygate scandal, with Alonso testifying against his own team in exchange for immunity from any sanctions. Allegedly, Alonso also went to Ron Dennis, the acting principle at McLaren at the time and threatened to hand over his indicting emails to the FIA unless he was given number one driver status. The request was refused and with relations at breaking point at the end of the season Alonso and McLaren mutually agreed to part company.

Alsonso was also driving for Renault at the time of the Crashgate scandal that rocked Formula One in 2008, whereby Nelson Piquet was ordered to crash by Renault boss, Flavio Briatore, in order to trigger a safety car which helped Alonso win the race. Although no collusion was ever found between Briatore and Alonso the incident is a reminder of how far rules are pushed and pale in significance compared to some of the mistakes perpetrated by Lewis Hamilton in his career.

Hamilton and Alonso are on speaking terms now and both found time last season to suggest that the other driver was the best in Formula One. Hamilton endured a torrid 2011 season, beaten by a team mate for the first time since 2007, and made several mistakes whilst trying to force the issue and overtake. Alonso was a similar driver aged 27, and with another four years hindsight and maturity Hamilton could find himself emulating Alonso, widely regarded as the finest driver in the field.

It was clear that neither driver could coexist during their season together in 2007. Both are incredibly competitive drivers and this conflict may have been cause because the two drivers are actually a lot more similar than we would imagine.