"When you are waiting for your first championship there is a little bit more stress as well because you don't want to lose the opportunity. Once you have the championship, the rest is less pressure."
Alonso cautioned, however, that it is much easier to win back-to-back championships when the regulations are stable because a team can carry through its advantage.
Hamilton will not have that, with significant changes introduced since he won the title. A team that gets it wrong at the start of the season could be playing catch-up for the rest of the year.
The Briton will also find that, as champion, everyone will want a piece of his time, and it will take a particular focus to keep his mind on the job and his feet on the ground when surrounded by adulation and hype.
The sport can offer plenty of examples of drivers whose first title was followed by a dip, for whatever reason.
Raikkonen is the most recent example, with the Finn suffering some bad luck, but also having his motivation constantly questioned last year when he won just two races and finished up third overall.
As he made clear in his typical deadpan fashion, it was not the end of the world. He had already climbed the mountain.
"If I lose (the title), it's probably not going to be hurting as much as if I weren't to have won it," the Ferrari driver said as his campaign fizzled out.
So Bleachers, is Lewis Hamilton good enough to make it two out of three this season?
As Meatloaf once said, "two out of three ain't bad!!"
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