Alonso joins the attack on team-mate Hamilton

Formula One News:Fernando Alonso has joined the condemnation of his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton's tactics in last week's Japanese Grand Prix which could deal a blow to the British driver's hopes of winning the world championship.

Hamilton is being investigated for his part in a crash between the Red Bull driver Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel of Toro Rosso behind the safety car on lap 45 of last weekend's race. The incident put both drivers out, and Hamilton has been fiercely criticised by Webber for constantly braking and accelerating in the final section of the track.

Hamilton won the race to move 12 points clear of last year's champion, Alonso, with two races remaining, and could clinch the title in the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday, but any penalty imposed will give Alonso renewed hope.

"I also overtook Lewis two or three times, so it seems that we all agree," said the Spaniard. "It's difficult to know what the car in front of you needs to do. I didn't see the race on TV but, hearing the comments of the drivers, they seemed to overtake the car in front a couple of times and had to make some unnecessary manoeuvres to avoid the cars in front."

Although the incident was missed by television cameras it is believed new evidence, thought to be footage on YouTube filmed from the Fuji grandstand, shows Hamilton pulling over to the right-hand side of the track and decelerating considerably before the collision.

"It definitely contributed to Sebastian hitting me up the back, because Hamilton wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing, clearly," said Webber. "He spoke in the drivers' meeting about how good a job he was going to do and he did the opposite. Still, we know for next time. He did a s*** job."

Formula One regulations state that the race leader must keep a constant distance behind the safety car until the lap before it is due to return to the pits. They add: "The safety car shall be used at least until the leader is behind it and all remaining cars are lined up behind him. Once behind the safety car, the race leader must keep within five car lengths of it."

The Toro Rosso team principal, Franz Tost, admitted that he approached the race stewards in China to complain about Hamilton's tactics after being made aware of the YouTube video.

"You could see quite clearly that Hamilton slows down quite unexpectedly," said Tost. "Look at the video. Sebastian would have had to have gone between the cars (Webber and Hamilton) and there was no chance.

"It was totally unexpected. It looked like Hamilton was stopping, that is why I went to the stewards."

Alonso's relationship both with the team and his co-driver Hamilton has deteriorated but, despite being offered a way out of the team by Renault chief Flavio Briatore, the 26-year-old insisted all thoughts of next season have been put on hold.

"It's not the time to speak about next year," he said.

"I will try to win these two races and when the championship finishes, we will see."

Guardian Service