Illusion, that is the word that the Aston Martin team gives off after having achieved the signing of Fernando Alonso for F1 2023 and the following years. After Vettel’s withdrawal announcement at the end of the course, there was a vacancy to fill, and those at Silverstone did not hesitate to turn to another great champion to replace the one they signed in 2021.
This was shown in the team’s statement by both the owner of the structure and its technical director.
Billionaire Lawrence Stroll , father of driver Lance Stroll and owner of the team since he rescued Force India in 2018 and turned it into Aston Martin in 2021, was a fan of the two-time champion.
“I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me,” Stroll said. “I am determined to bring together the best and develop the right resources and organization to succeed in this highly competitive sport, and those plans have already taken shape at Silverstone.”
Lawrence Stroll said he had no hesitation in signing Fernando Alonso as soon as the opportunity presented itself: “It seemed natural to ask Fernando to be part of developing a winning team, and in our recent conversations we quickly discovered that we shared the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together”.
He also spoke of the Asturian Mike Krack, who last January became the director of the team, as a substitute for the current director of Alonso in Alpine, Otmar Szafnauer.
The Luxembourger revealed how the surprise signing announced this Monday felt at the team: “I have witnessed the excitement in the engineering team and throughout the organization at the possibility of working with Fernando. We know that almost everyone can learn from a man of Fernando’s caliber and experience”.
Having competed for two years with Sebastian Vettel, a true leader whose method and work ethic have always been praised, at Aston Martin they hope to follow that path with Alonso: “We trust that he will inspire everyone to raise their level, and that will not more than increase the already contagious energy of the team
“We are on the path to creating a winning organization and it is clear that Fernando will accelerate our progress and deliver a performance we can be proud of.”
Lance Stroll will be the eighth driver to be Alonso’s teammate during a world championship, and at Aston Martin they see the advantages of that mix: “We are delighted that Fernando and Lance will form our driver line-up for next year: the combination of experience and youth It will be incredibly strong and both drivers are looking forward to racing and working together.”
“The team has a new direction focused on the development of the AMR23, and we are all excited that they and our future projects will benefit from the knowledge and experience that Fernando will bring,” he concluded.
