Former team-mate and long-time rival has come to bat for , tipping the legendary Brit to get over his early-season slump. The Spaniard described his former colleague as a 'truly great driver', despite his recent struggles. Hamilton's Mercedes career ended in a shroud of questions. The Brit was demolished in qualifying by team-mate George Russell, and while his race pace was still stellar, many pundits were questioning whether or not F1's most decorated driver of all time had lost his magic touch.

The Brit's Saturday struggles followed him from Brackley to Maranello, denying the 40-year-old a fairytale start to life with Ferrari. Save for an out-of-the-blue , Hamilton's 2025 campaign has been noticeably short on standout moments.

Despite this, Alonso believes Hamilton can turn his fortunes around. "What's wrong with him? I have no idea," he said in Montreal. "Lewis is a truly great driver; on tracks like Canada, he's capable of exploiting all his strengths. After 24 races, we'll do the math; he's struggling now, but he can turn things around very quickly."

Alonso drew comparisons between Hamilton's intra-team battles and Leclerc at Ferrari. "I don't think the situation has changed much compared to last year with Russell," he continued.

"Back then, the Mercedes was apparently difficult to drive, and Russell was more comfortable. This year, the situation seems to be the same. But it's difficult to give an opinion without having all the information."

Alonso's backing will mean a lot to Hamilton, given the duo's chequered past. The two-time world champion was the Brit's first F1 team-mate when he joined McLaren as a rookie in 2007, and the pair quickly developed a rivalry that turned bitter, eventually leading to the Spaniard's exit from the team.

"We were in the same team, the same garage, we often travelled together, we were at meetings together, and we started to notice that there was friction," Alonso told DAZN in 2024, looking back on their time together.

He went on to add: "I erased a lot of things from my memory, I would have to recall a lot of memories to go into detail. It was a difficult year, in which Hamilton and I were mostly to blame for our immaturity and lack of teamwork."

The tension experienced by Hamilton and Alonso has impacted the duo's relationship in the long run, too. "I don't think we will ever be friends in the future," Alonso stated back in 2024. "I don't think we have many things in common."