(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-26 21:21

LONDON, Aug 26 - Triple champion Niki Lauda has told Fernando Alonso to stop complaining about McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton and concentrate on driving if he wants to keep his Formula One title.

The Spaniard, seven points behind Hamilton going into Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, has been unhappy with his treatment at McLaren and feels unrewarded for what he has brought to the championship leading team.

"Instead of complaining, moaning and bitching, which is what Alonso is doing at the moment, all he needs to do is concentrate on driving quicker," Lauda told BBC Radio Five Live from Istanbul.

"He is using all kinds of excuses. He should have done this after the second or third race of the season after he realised how quick Hamilton is. He didn't do that."

"My worry is if he continues to find the reasons somewhere else, and not in his right foot, he will lose out because Hamilton is doing a perfect job, simply concentrating on his driving and he's quick. It's what Alonso should do."

Hamilton, 22, has made an astonishing impact this season with three wins from his first 11 races and 10 appearances on the podium.

Former McLaren driver Martin Brundle, now a commentator for British ITV television, also criticised Alonso in the Sunday Times newspaper for getting "annoyed like a spoilt child".

"The Spaniard has to stop moaning and get on with it," the Briton wrote.

Lauda believes Hamilton could go on to emulate Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula One history.

"If he keeps on developing his experience and his speed he can certainly be better, might be better, than Schumacher but he is certainly on the right road because nobody has been so impressive coming into Formula One," he said.

Lauda, who was also a champion with McLaren, said that the rivalry between team mates was healthy for the sport.

"McLaren has the two most competitive drivers fighting each other like crazy to go quicker. All the politics before and after don't really count," he said.

"There is always mistrust between drivers in the same team."

"I had the same thing with (Alain) Prost in the old days when we were fighting the whole year and I won the championship by half a point," said the Austrian.

"You cannot trust your team mate."