Ian Parkes
Sunday 18 December 2022 13:30
Additional reporting by Sam Hall
Mike Krack has revealed a painful retirement for Fernando Alonso is already providing motivation to Aston Martin.
Alonso wants to replace four-time champion Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin next season.
But the Spanish driver’s effect is already being felt, with his reaction to a race-ending reliability problem with his Alpine at the Mexican Grand Prix held aloft as an example to the Silverstone-based team.
At that stage, Alonso had long been confirmed as moving on to Aston Martin, yet he epitomized his desire and fighting spirit at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“With Fernando, I always hold up this picture of the Mexican Grand Prix, about his frustration of not finishing seventh,” said Aston Martin team principal Krack, speaking in an end-of-season group interview, including GPFans.
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“This is an example of dedication and motivation. If you have someone with this passion and drive to win, it has an impact on the team.”
Alonso was highly critical of Alpine throughout the past year as an appalling reliability record cost what he estimated to be approximately 70 points, a total that would have comfortably seen him finish ahead of Lando Norris as the ‘best of the rest’.
Towards the end of the campaign, Alonso’s frustration saw him openly counting down the days before he could sample “the green car” in a post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
“We could clearly see that everybody was really happy to have this guy in the car,” added Krack.
“He ignites another spark, from his own passion and desire to win, onto the team.”
