Hamilton hits out at Alonso

Lewis Hamilton has accused Fernando Alonso of sour grapes as their bitter rivalry resurfaced following Sunday's contentious European Grand Prix.

Alonso opened a can of worms after the race in Valencia by stating it had been "manipulated", and accusing Hamilton of disrespecting the rules as he overtook the safety car deployed following Mark Webber's spectacular crash. Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali, president Luca di Montezemolo and vice-president Piero Ferrari have all since expressed anger and bitterness at the events that unfolded.

For his infringement, Hamilton was handed a drive-through penalty but retained second place, while Alonso finished eighth after he filed in behind the safety car when running third behind Hamilton at the time. Asked if Alonso's comments were a case of sour grapes, Hamilton replied: "Yeah."

He continued: "I even saw him overtaken by a Sauber on the big screen (referring to Kamui Kobayashi's pass on Alonso on the penultimate lap).

"It's very unlike him to be overtaken by a Sauber so he must have been completely in another world. But I don't understand why I affected his race so much. Everyone has a right to their opinion, and he must be disappointed with his own result, but I didn't do anything to him."

Despite Alonso's grievances, and all those within Ferrari, they appear to be a lone voice in the wilderness on this occasion.

Naturally defending Hamilton, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "If you look at the incident itself it was very, very difficult to avoid what happened.

"It was minuscule, and so it goes to the stewards and they made a decision. That is pretty normal in my experience of motor racing, but Fernando may have a different set of experiences."

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner added: "I think the safety car rules have not played out for Ferrari, and McLaren was perhaps a bit naughty with the way it worked it, but it got a penalty for that.

"Arguably it didn't cost them, but that's just the way it worked out. I don't think it was manipulated. The FIA just need to look at the safety car rules in the future."