On August 1, 2022, the signing of Fernando Alonso by Aston Martin. The Asturian left Alpine, which led the middle zone, to land in a team that at that time was in ninth place in the constructors’ championship. The movement was not understood by many who, both inside and outside the ‘paddock’, assured that it was the golden retirement of the Oviedo pilot.
half a year later, the results show that Alonso’s decision was a success and now he is ready to stand up to Red Bullhe, Ferrari and Mercedesand in his first race he climbed to a podium that wasn’t even on the horizon in 2022, with Alpine.
Lawrence Strollteam owner and father of Lance Stroll, has explained how he convinced Fernando Alonso to sign for Aston Martin. “I’ve known Fernando for a while, as has Lance. When Fernando was racing in FerrariLance was in the Ferrari Young Driver Academy, he was 12 years old at the time, so they have known each other for a long time,” Lawrence Stroll told ‘Sky F1’.
“We have known each other for a long time, and Fernando shared the same faith as me. I went up to him and said: ‘these are my plans for the future’. Because he has known me for a long time, he replied ‘you will be next, I want to be a part of this’and chose to join us,” Stroll explained.
Aston Martin’s top shareholder has also spoken about the team’s future plans, and ensures that the project has no ceiling: “I don’t like to set targets, we will do our best. I think we show what we can do. Like everyone else , we are going to improve throughout the season, so it is only the first days of this car. Our CFD and wind tunnel testing will improve as we go along, and I don’t want to give a target as long as we have a great year, but we’re off to a great start.”
Stroll says that Aston Martin’s success is the result of the financial injection it is bringing to the team, which will culminate in the opening of the new factory this spring and the new wind tunnel in 2024. “We have made significant changes. Our staff has increased from 400 to 740 employeesWe are building a new state-of-the-art Formula 1 facility, and we won’t move in until May 1, so this year’s success cannot be attributed to the new building,” he said.
That large investment should allow Aston Martin settle at the level of leading teams and fight regularly for podiums, victories and titles.
