Mercedes to "hide things" from Hamilton

Fernando Alonso expects Mercedes to keep secrets from Lewis Hamilton this year ahead of the Brit's impending move to Ferrari in 2025.

Alonso compared Hamilton’s final year at Mercedes to his own season with Renault in 2006, at which point he had already confirmed his plans to join McLaren at the end of the campaign.

"For me it was not a big difference," said the Spaniard. "In 2006, I started the season very okay, I think with the team and very relaxed with a very good atmosphere and for me didn’t change much.

"It did change maybe for the team a little bit because halfway through the season they were just testing things or programming things for the following year and I was not involved in those things because they kept some secrets from me, which was understandable.

"I think for the driver point of view doesn’t change much for the team. They try to hide a few things in the second part of the year."