Lewis Hamilton on Friday said he would quit McLaren if he ever felt too subordinate to his world champion teammate Fernando Alonso.
The rookie Briton sparked a furore after the Monaco grand prix when he suggested he was ordered to settle for second place because he is “the number two driver”.
F1’s most unambiguous ‘number two’ in recent memory was Rubens Barrichello, who in 2002 famously had to move over for his Ferrari master Michael Schumacher within sight of the Austrian GP chequer.
“I hate the situation Rubens was in,” Hamilton told reporters in the McLaren hospitality area in Montreal.
“If that was ever the case for me I would not be there much longer.”
Hamilton, 22, said his performances so far this year demonstrate that he deserves to be “at least equal to” Alonso.
But he admitted to learning a lesson in Monaco’s post-race FIA press conference — don’t give too much away.
“Maybe next time I might watch what I say,” he explained, “but I just said what I felt. I’m only human.
“Sometimes your feelings need to be expressed and everybody knows how you feel.
“It’s alright putting a big smile on your face but maybe next time I might control it a little better.”
