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Formula 1 veterans Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton believe there is a better relationship among drivers than ever, following a dinner with the entire 2022 grid ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.
Hamilton instigated the dinner to honour the career of Sebastian Vettel, who is retiring from F1 after the season finale.
An unforgettable night pic.twitter.com/5NMeYWfm4j
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) November 17, 2022
Though the Grand Prix Drivers Association has full membership, this was the first time since the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix that all the drivers on the grid have come together in this way.
It was hailed as a great evening by all drivers and despite some rivalries that have boiled over on-track in recent times, like between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the consensus is that off-track there is mutual respect across the grid and a desire to celebrate that more often.
“It was the best evening,” said Hamilton. “Everyone was laughing so much, great stories, Seb is a great leader.
“He made a great speech, really trying to hand down some of the experiences he’s had over these years, particularly to the younger guys because they’re the future.
“It was the most harmony any driver group has ever had, I would imagine.
“Maybe not in history because there’s images of others many, many years ago, but definitely in these 15 years [that Hamilton has been in F1].”
Two-time world champion Alonso, who made his debut in 2001, said that the dynamic between drivers has changed a lot through his career.
He suggested that there was a greater emphasis on simply respecting one another as professionals in the past whereas now it is friendlier, which he says he prefers.
“It was different,” he said. “It was Jos Verstappen there, when I started, and now it’s Max!
“It’s just different. It was more [based on] respect before. It was less of this younger generation, social media, whatever, before it was like very strong characters in Formula 1, it was DC [David Coulthard], it was Mika [Hakkinen], it was Michael [Schumacher], it was very established drivers.
“But now it’s a little bit more friendly in a different way. I don’t say ‘fake’ but it’s just all young, all friendly.
“Before it was different. But I like it more now.”
Hamilton and Alonso are both keen for such gatherings to be a more regular occurrence.
It has been suggested it could be an annual dinner in Abu Dhabi with another organised during the year.
Both believe that this can be an extension of the GPDA and encourage drivers to behave as a collective more.
“I think we feel how privileged we are to be in this sport and drive this kind of cars, and have the fun we have,” said Alonso.
“So, why not add this extra bit, having some moments together and share different things from each of us, and try to help each other?
“Because sometimes there’s a couple of drivers that are down, sometimes others they are on a high. And we know that everything depends on the car normally, so we should be united on many things.”
Hamilton added: “There’s a lot we can do as the GPDA as a united group.
“We have a responsibility, we’ve got a great platform, each and every one of us collectively.”
Other drivers have said that this kind of action together shows that the grid is more closely united than people may think.
Alex Albon said that the subject of several of the drivers being friends even cropped up during the dinner, where drivers were seated randomly depending on when they showed up rather than being specifically grouped.
He reckons that the increased number of races, and how often various drivers travel together, has prompted closer relationships than in the past.
Albon’s long-time friend George Russell acknowledged that some relationships are “probably built up a little more than what is reality” but said some drivers genuinely are “close mates with each other”.
Russell echoed Albon’s sentiment that the intensity of a season bonds the drivers in a sense, as “there’s only 20 drivers in the world and only one another can understand what we all go through”.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz said: “On track there’s as much rivalry and as much beef as there used to be in the past but outside of the track, we’ve managed to find a balance between all of us.
“We all see the merit in what we do, we all see that we spend 23 races away from home, we travel, we’re far away, we’re on the road, we all respect that.
“And we especially all respect what we do on track. You guys cannot imagine the risks we take, how fast we are in these cars, how crazy on the limit everyone is and the talent there is on the grid.
“We all respect and admire that from each other. Outside of the track we get to enjoy some company which we are looking forward to increasing in the future.”
