Lewis Hamilton’s relationships with team-mates have rarely stayed smooth once a world championship battle enters the equation.
His current partnership with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari has remained largely positive, though neither driver has genuinely competed for the title since joining forces.
History shows that once championship pressure builds, even the most professional partnerships can collapse rapidly, as McLaren discovered in 2007.
Hamilton arrived at McLaren as a rookie paired alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, with most expecting him to play a supporting role in his debut season.
Those expectations were quickly shattered, as Hamilton reeled off four consecutive podiums in the opening four races to lead the world championship standings.
It became obvious that Alonso would need to overcome his own team-mate to have any hope of claiming a third drivers’ title.
Despite the tension brewing beneath the surface, Monaco appeared on the surface to be the perfect weekend for McLaren, with Alonso leading Hamilton home for a one-two finish.
However, during the race Hamilton sensed an opportunity to overcut Alonso during the pit stops, and McLaren chose to protect their race leader by pitting Hamilton earlier than ideal.
After the final round of stops, both drivers were instructed to reduce engine power, but while Alonso complied, Hamilton refused and instead used the opportunity to pressure his team-mate into making a mistake.
Alonso responded by turning his engine back up to maintain his advantage, a moment that McLaren race engineering head Steve Hallam described vividly to Motorsport Magazine, recalling: “Fernando said to me ‘I’ll turn mine down when he turns his down.’ Ron then told Lewis’s team to reduce his power, and I think he then actually got on the radio himself.”
Hamilton finished four seconds behind Alonso but made no attempt to hide his intentions at the post-race press conference, admitting he was absolutely trying to force his team-mate into an error.
When asked how he felt about finishing second, Hamilton replied “Well, that’s why I’ve got a No.2 on my car,” a pointed reference to what he perceived as preferential treatment toward Alonso.
The FIA launched an investigation into McLaren for unsporting conduct, though the team issued a statement insisting: “We are completely comfortable with the FIA’s investigation into our race strategy and that all decisions taken both before and during the race were completely in compliance with the international sporting code.”
McLaren were ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, but the internal damage had already been done and the relationship between the two drivers continued to deteriorate throughout the season.
Hamilton won the next race in Canada, prompting Alonso to claim the team were actively favouring their rookie driver over the established world champion.
The dynamic reversed at the United States Grand Prix, where Alonso reportedly fumed at McLaren for refusing to let him pass the slower Hamilton during the race.
With both McLaren drivers locked in their internal war, Kimi Raikkonen seized the opportunity to take the drivers’ championship by a single point at the season’s conclusion.
The story serves as a compelling reminder of how quickly team harmony can unravel under the weight of championship ambition, a dynamic that Ferrari and Hamilton will need to manage carefully as 2026 develops.