One of those questions that periodically always return, in every kind of competitive sport, loved by the public, and that always leads to heated discussions among hardcore fan bases. Who is the best? In our case: of course there are some drivers who are the gotha of F1, but who actually is  “ the GOAT” ?

This time, Fernando Alonso was asked this tricky question. The Spanish racing driver, who will take part in the virtual Spa 24H race alongside former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan and other sim racers for the FA/RB Allinsports esports team, has done an appearance on the WTF1 podcast.

He was asked who is the most talented between him and Lewis Hamilton. The two of them were teammates in 2007 at McLaren and ended up both scoring 109 points while losing the championship to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by a single point.

Since they have driven the same car in the same timeframe, a comparison between the two drivers actually might not seem that crazy. On the other hand, Alonso had been crowned World Champion in both 2005 and 2006, while it was the first year in F1 for 22 years old Hamilton.

 "It’s difficult to compare times, difficult to compare drivers in the same time because you need to have all the things, and all the ingredients together to have a fair answer,” Alonso answered.

He went on to explain that due to the tyre switch from Michelin (tyres he used to win two championships in 2005 and 2006 whilst at Renault) to Bridgestone, apparently more similar to the ones used in GP2, he faced a lot of struggles, especially at the beginning of the season, and that he had to change his driving style to adapt to them.

Another key factor for winning a championship, as everyone knows, is luck, and both the teammates in that year suffered from pit lane starts, penalties and mechanical issues. 

He concluded: "109-109 I’m happy, and I see now Lewis’ success, and in Formula 1 it is difficult to compare Michael [Schumacher], Lewis, [Ayrton] Senna. They have all been great in different eras and a lot of victories, but for sure you need a car, and a package that Lewis has at the moment, and he's delivering."

Next season will find the Spanish driver back on the grid after a two-years hiatus, in which he competed at Le Mans and Daytona, racing for Alpine with Esteban Ocon, while still nothing is official regarding the future of the British seven times world champion, who apparently still hasn't renewed his Mercedes contract.