Nelson Piquet Jr claims Fernando Alonso still has more ‘passion’ for racing than Lewis Hamilton

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Nelson Piquet Jr. has highlighted a significant difference between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, despite both drivers being the only ones on the current grid over 40.

The rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton has been a constant presence in Formula 1 since their time as teammates at McLaren back in 2007.

That season, Alonso was earning considerably more than Hamilton – about 34 times as much – but the battle between them was closely matched all year long.

Now, nearly two decades later, they’re still competing against each other in F1 machinery whenever the opportunity arises.

Hamilton’s future has been a topic of conversation ever since his switch to Ferrari, while questions remain about how much longer Alonso plans to stay in the sport. Piquet Jr., however, believes there’s a clear difference between what keeps each of them going.

Nelson Piquet Jr comments on the different motivations of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton

Piquet Jr shared his perspective on the differences between Alonso and Hamilton late in their F1 careers during an interview with SoyMotor.

The Brazilian questioned Hamilton’s level of motivation compared to Alonso, suggesting that the seven-time champion doesn’t approach race weekends with the same hunger.

“Lewis doesn’t have the love, passion, and hunger that Fernando still has, despite Fernando being older. He is five or six years older than my and Lewis’s generation, yet he has more passion than many of the other drivers; that is very respectable.”

He also drew a comparison between Alonso and Max Verstappen, saying: “Fernando is similar to Max in that he loves racing. He is a racer and extremely fast. When I was racing with Fernando nearly 20 years ago, he was in his prime and very tough to beat on the weekends.