Hamilton sees no end to Alonso feud

LONDON (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton admits he cannot see an end to his feud with Fernando Alonso because the McLaren duo are so competitive.

Hamilton's sensational debut season in Formula One has reportedly left Alonso feeling unwanted by McLaren and the Spaniard is not speaking to his colleague after a turbulent Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session last week.

The Britain refused to let Alonso by at the start of the final qualifying session on Saturday before the Spaniard ignored team orders and did the same.

Alonso was hit with a five-place grid penalty for his actions, while Hamilton went on to win the race and extend his lead at the top of the drivers' championship.

McLaren were also punished with a 15 point deduction for their drivers' behaviour, but Hamilton, who acknowledges the battle with the double world champion will not help team morale, is not surprised there has been friction.

"When you have two very competitive people in a team, probably the two most competitive people around, and who both want to win, it puts the team under pressure," Hamilton said.

"It's just extremely hard for everyone to play fair and make it easy. That's why sometimes it appears one driver is favoured over the other. That's why sometimes I feel he is favoured and vice versa."

Hamilton, 22, is seven clear in the drivers championship and he is determined not to let the off-track rows distract him from his goal of replacing Alonso as world champion.

"Because of the problems we are having with the FIA and Ferrari, it's just more pressure on the team," Hamilton said.

"The comforting thing is we have all this stuff going on, even at the weekend, and yet we weren't distracted from our job.

"I learned a lot from the weekend, about my team, how strong they are to deal with all the issues that are going on right now.

"It's daunting for all of us, but I don't believe any other team could cope with it better.

"It's a tough time for the whole team, but it's not distracting us, which is the main thing."