Big lead over Hamilton is ’good news’ - Alonso

Fernando Alonso has singled out Lewis Hamilton as a greater threat to his title chances than Sebastian Vettel.

Being smashed out of Sunday’s Belgian grand prix by Romain Grosjean’s flying Lotus means Spaniard Alonso lost the chance to break the all-time record for the number of consecutive points finishes.

"I’m sorry to have lost that possibility, but after all Michael (Schumacher) is the record man," the 30-year-old is quoted by Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Patience — we will try in the next 24 races," Alonso joked.

The Ferrari driver also insisted it is "not a problem" to have seen his 40-point lead in the championship dwindle to just 24, even though it is "disappointing".

"We knew that it (the lead) would not always stay the same," Alonso said.

Alonso’s closest challenger is now Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, but the Spaniard said the 24-point gap to his German rival is "not a problem".

"We have seen in the last two grands prix that McLaren is strong. Hamilton is probably the most dangerous opponent, so that he is 47 points behind is good news."