Fernando Alonso thinks former rival Lewis Hamilton is driving "as good as he has been" since joining Mercedes, despite his nightmare start to the season.
Hamilton, 37, is lying sixth in the drivers' standings on just 36 points after five races. He did open the campaign with a podium third-placed finish in Bahrain, but has since been markedly off the pace set by front-runners Ferrari and Red Bull.
He endured a humiliating moment in Saudi Arabia when he was eliminated in Q1, and could only finish 10th in the race itself. Imola got worse still, only good enough for 13th place, outside the points, and to compound matters he was lapped by last season's title rival and race winner, Max Verstappen.
Hamilton joined the Silver Arrows in 2013 and, after finishing fourth in his first season under Toto Wolff, he then embarked on a period of dominance. He went on to claim the world title in six of the eight years that followed, with two exceptions coming in 2016 and 2021.
On both those occasions, most notably the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, he was runner-up after taking the battle to the final race of the season. But having already written off his chances this time around, Hamilton is in new territory at Mercedes - but Alonso believes the driver himself isn't to blame.
"Sometimes you have a better car, sometimes you have not such a good car and you still need to fight and make some progress," he told the BBC. This year we see that the driver is very important in F1 but not crucial.
"He was dominating the sport and breaking all the records and 100-and-something pole positions. And now he is doing a mega lap - as he said in Australia or somewhere like that - and he is one second behind. So, yeah - welcome."
Hamilton's struggles have appeared more mystifying by dint of the fact that George Russell is finding some form in the W13. Despite not yet seriously challenging for a race win, Russell has secured a top-five finish in every Grand Prix thus far and sits fourth on 59 points.
But Alpine driver Alonso, himself a two-time champion, doesn't think the youngster will be in front of his more esteemed partner for long: "George has been very fast in the last few years and I think everyone was expecting him to be a tough competitor for Lewis," added the Spaniard.
"But I still believe Lewis will eventually finish the championship in front. This is just a five-race championship, but eventually when things are more tricky or [there are] difficult situations, Lewis will still have more experience and maybe more talent."
Alonso himself knows all about partnering Hamilton, although he was very much senior driver during the British icon's rookie 2007 season. The pair famously feuded during their year at McLaren, after which Alonso was granted an early release from his contract.
The two have since patched up their differences, and both now find themselves on the back foot in 2022. Alonso has just two points to his name, whilst teammate Esteban Ocon has 24.
