Alonso: Hamilton remarks led to confusion

Hamilton said after finishing second to Alonso that he was surprised McLaren had asked him to pit earlier than planned, as he believed he had a chance to challenge the Spaniard's lead.

"I was actually quite surprised because I was fuelled to do five laps, maybe six laps longer than Fernando and they stopped me with three laps, so there wasn't much time to pull out a gap or improve my time, I wasn't really given much time for it," Hamilton said.

"I came in two or three laps after. That was unfortunate but that's the way it goes.

"At the end of the day, I am a rookie. I am in my first season in Formula One and I have finished second in only my first Monaco Grand Prix so I really can't complain, but to see that I am of a similar pace to Fernando is a positive for me. But it is something I have to live with. I've got number two on my car. I am the number two driver."

Hamilton's comments, and McLaren team boss Ron Dennis' admission that he had asked his drivers to hold position, created uproar in the British press after the race, with newspapers accusing the team of having denied Hamilton a chance of scoring his maiden win.

Speaking to Spanish journalists ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso said he believes Hamilton's comments triggered the controversy.

"It all began because of that press conference and what he said, and because of that second pitstop," Alonso was quoted as saying by his country's AS newspaper. "We pitted earlier than planned to avoid risks with the safety car. He was surprised by the team's decision and he said so.

"What nobody said was that I also had fuel left and that we both pitted ahead of time. That was the big confusion."

Alonso also feels Dennis did not need to justify the team's decision to hold their positions in the race.

"I don't think it makes a lot of sense," Alonso said. "It doesn't make sense either to win by a minute to the third car. You have to win by a second so you minimize the risks of touching the barriers or to have an engine or a gearbox problem.

"To me the important thing was that I won at Monaco for the second time."

After the race, the FIA launched an investigation into McLaren's tactics, but the governing body found the British squad had done nothing wrong.