After spending the last two years with Alpine, Fernando Alonso has decided to take on a new challenge. The Spaniard will now drive for Aston Martin for the coming season. One of the worst teams in Formula 1, which finished seventh in the constructors’ standings in 2022. He has already announced that he will not stay if he does not think that his new team is capable of fighting at the front, a statement that carries big pressure on the team.
One world champion replaces another. While Sebastian Vettel has ended his Formula 1 career, Fernando Alonso will replace him at Aston Martin from the coming season. At 41 years of age, the Spaniard has decided to take on a new challenge after two years with Alpine.
Fernando Alonso still has a lot of ambition and he doesn’t want to be just a figurehead. If he feels that he no longer has the level, or that Aston Martin is not capable of fighting for the top places, he will stop.
“No, I don’t think I’ll accept that and I won’t continue if I don’t think we have a chance.
“I don’t know if it’s 1% or 10%, but I will only continue if I believe we have a chance,” he said in a report for Motorsport.com.
Fernando Alonso is aware that his new team, which finished seventh in the constructors’ standings last season, will not be able to close the gap in the blink of an eye:
“Next year, I think it is unrealistic for Aston Martin to close the gap completely, but we have to lay the foundations for the next cars and work better than the teams around us.
“This is a very competitive environment, so to become champion you have to do something exceptional. Personally, I am ready to do something exceptional, and I expect the same from the team.”
“At least two or three years at Aston Martin”
Fernando Alonso also spoke about what he could bring to Aston Martin.
“Where I think I can make a difference is in the crucial moments of the races, the experience, the decisions or thinking about the strategy. It’s not about talent – I think we all have a lot of talent, we’re all quick behind the wheel.
“It’s mostly in the head, it depends on how you control certain things,” he added. As for his future, the Spaniard wants to “take things year by year”, but confirmed that he will be there no matter what happens in 2024:
“I don’t know, (in 2021) I might not be 100%. If I do a few seasons like that, even if I perform well from the outside but I’m not happy, maybe I’ll stop.
“And (2022), for example, I am very proud of it. I will continue whatever the results are next year, because I know what I can bring to the team. So I don’t know, at least two or three years.”
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