Watson tells Alonso to 'grow up'

That is the view of former Grand Prix winner John Watson, who has told Alonso to "move on and grow up".

Watson's comments come after Alonso, who moved from Renault to McLaren this year, suggested on Monday that teammate Hamilton was getting more support from his team thanks to being a Briton in a British squad.

Team boss Ron Dennis said, however, the team would always give both drivers the same opportunities.

Watson reckons Dennis must have been disappointed to read Alonso's comments.

"I think Alonso is missing being the centre of attention," Watson told The Sun newspaper. "He has been the centre of attention at Renault and in Spain but obviously he's not anymore. He feels that because he's in a British team Lewis is getting favouritism. That's bollocks.

"The only thing that is happening is Lewis is generating so much excitement at the moment that Alonso doesn't know what is happening. It's not Lewis' fault he's doing well and Alonso isn't.

"He just has to stop, take a breath, move on and grow up.

"I think Ron Dennis will be disappointed. He'll want to talk to Fernando right away and find out what he meant by it. It's disruptive and negative and Alonso needs to explain it."

Watson believes Alonso, eight points behind Hamilton in the championship, has perhaps struggled to adapt to his new team and he is showing his frustration.

"If you look back to Monaco, perhaps Alonso expected the status quo to be formed when the team allowed him to win," Watson, a former McLaren driver, added.

"He thought he'd established himself as the No 1. But there was only one name on everyone's lips in Monaco. It wasn't Penelope Cruz or Jude Law, everyone wanted a piece of Lewis.

"I think it's just emotion and frustration from Alonso. McLaren are one of the few teams who don't operate a No. 1 and No. 2 driver policy. Alonso started the season as the best Formula One driver in the world by a long margin. But McLaren will always give both drivers equal opportunity to win.

"Maybe he's struggled to adapt to the team. McLaren has a different outlook to Renault, it's not as emotional and is a different environment. He's also learning a new car and has different tyres. He's probably never raced on Bridgestones before, so it's all getting under his skin."