Lewis Hamilton is relishing taking on his old foe Fernando Alonso next season following the Spaniard's move from Renault to Ferrari.

The world champion said his relationship with Alonso had improved following a tense season together as McLaren team-mates in 2007. "People say it will be total war between me and Fernando but that's not the case," said Hamilton. "He's a former world champion and I have a huge amount of respect for him. We get on very well. He will be very strong at Ferrari and we've got to make sure we do everything to beat him. We've got our work cut out; we've got to do a solid job with our car."

With Kimi Raikkonen rumoured to be returning to McLaren as team-mate to Hamilton, the British driver is relishing the competition for 2010. "I'm looking forward to it," said Hamilton. "It sounds like it could be an exciting year and back to the old days that I remember. I grew up watching Kimi and Fernando at the front, along with [Michael] Schumacher, and I see those guys as the greats. So being able to compete with Raikkonen and Alonso and to have [Felipe] Massa in there as well, it's going to be a close, close battle. As drivers, we always want to be racing against the best. And you always want to be ahead and be better."

Alonso said the switch to Ferrari was a dream move. "Hopefully I can continue as long as I want and I can finish my career here with a lot of wins," said Alonso. "I really think that Ferrari will be my last team. Leaving Ferrari to change teams is a step backwards. Ferrari is more than a team and I want to finish my career there. All the drivers dream one day of driving for the Scuderia Ferrari and this dream has come true for me. I'm extremely happy and I'm ready for the challenge in 2010.

"I will go there to be in the best team possible for my career and Ferrari and I share many things together, such as the passion for competition and to give 100% every race. I think that this is the best destination of my career. Hopefully I can give to them the maximum performance in the car, from a driving point of view. Outside the car I can be part of the team and be as professional as possible and to try and help the team produce the best car and give the best performance. I think all the drivers try to do this and sometimes you succeed. Winning a championship is something special and winning with Ferrari would be more special, but I cannot tell you now as I haven't yet experienced it."

Rubens Barrichello, a former Ferrari driver, had no doubt about the strength of the partnership between the Italian team and Alonso. "There has been talk of him going there for the past two years but it never came to anything," said Barrichello. "For me, it came as a surprise when it was finally announced this early, especially when they had a contract with Kimi. When I say it's love, Fernando has been wanting to go there for a long time and Ferrari feel the same. When it's like that, then it will gel very easily. Fernando is a top-class driver, on the same level as Michael Schumacher. I just hope that my friend Felipe Massa can hold on to him because I think he's going to be the guy to beat. Felipe is very fast and they are going to have equal terms – which is not something [we] all had the pleasure of."

Barrichello was referring to having to accept team orders at Ferrari. The Brazilian, meanwhile, would not confirm reports that he will leave Brawn to join Williams in 2010. "I'm in much better shape than I've ever been," said Barrichello. "I hope to be driving next year in a competitive car and that's all I can say for the time being. It's not done."