Fernando Alonso has joined retirement-bound Felipe Massa in acclaiming Lewis Hamilton as one of Formula One's greatest drivers following his fourth drivers' world title triumph.
The two-time champion, who was Hamilton's team-mate at McLaren in 2007, told reporters ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix that he ranked the 32-year-old Briton above his peers.
"Lewis is one of the greatest drivers in our sport and he showed that, especially in McLaren times, when they were struggling," said Alonso.
"For example, in 2009, that car wasn't very good and he was still winning races. Those kind of performances put him at a very high level.
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"The last three championships, obviously, the Mercedes has been the dominant car, so they were a little bit easier, but he deserves the success that he is having now because he showed that talent many, many times.
"When he battled with Nico Rosberg, (he won) two championships he really deserved. Last year Rosberg deserved the championship probably and this year Valtteri (Bottas) was a little bit less competition, so he was a very well deserved champion.
"Definitely you need the car, but I think Lewis deserves his success. He proved himself with his titles and his wins when he did not have the best car."
Alonso's positive comments followed a similarly generous assessment from Brazilian Massa who said that Hamilton deserved his place alongside other illustrious multiple champions like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
"He lacks nothing to Senna or Schumacher, or any name in the history of world motor sport," said Massa, who will race in his final home Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.
"He lacks nothing to them. He is undoubtedly one of the best drivers in F1 history."
Hamilton wrapped up his fourth drivers' title at the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago.
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- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
