McLaren mechanics in 2007 were tripping over each other to work on Fernando Alonso’s side of the garage, claims Marc Priestley.

That season, McLaren formed an entirely new driver line-up of Alonso, the double reigning World Champion who had moved from Renault, alongside prodigious rookie talent Lewis Hamilton.

The duo replaced Kimi Raikkonen, who went on to win that year’s World Championship for Ferrari, and Juan Pablo Montoya, with the Colombian having exited McLaren halfway through 2006 to return to America, replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.

Priestley, who became the No 1 mechanic with the Woking-based squad before leaving to pursue a media and motivational-speaking career, says despite Hamilton having formed a huge reputation in junior series, it was Alonso who acted as a magnet within the team.