'Finding right seat in F1 like game of chess'

Lewis Hamilton says Fernando Alonso's forthcoming deliberations and negotiations about 2018 will be like "a game of chess". The Spanish grand prix winner was asked by the Spanish broadcaster Movistar to comment on the high profile struggles of Alonso, who switched from Ferrari to the ill-fated McLaren-Honda project three years ago.

"F1 is an unusual sport," Hamilton said. "You can be the best prepared, the fittest, the most talented and still have nothing. It's terrible and something that I don't like about the sport," said the Mercedes driver.

And so he said an out-of-contract top driver like Alonso finding the right seat "is like a game of chess". "You have to make your moves with diligence and care, taking the right decisions at the right time to be in the right place at the right time," added Hamilton. (GMM)