"When I changed and I joined McLaren, Lewis was arriving in the team as well as being new in Formula One, so he was always giving fresh ideas and a fresh way to do things and you always learn from everybody," he said.

"We are not together but we are still racing each other in different teams. It's a new challenge."

Hamilton seems to be enjoying a better relationship with his new team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen.

The Finn joined from Renault in a straight swap with Alonso and Hamilton said the relationship between the two "couldn't be better".

"Everyone knows that he is very, very competitive. At least I do and he's got a great talent," said Hamilton.

"I am sure he's going to be pushing me just as much as I push him.

"He's been a lot more active in the team than any other driver I've seen. "We've been playing tennis, basketball and we've done our fitness trip together. It's great to see him participating in everything."