by Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack is confident Fernando Alonso will help take the team “even further”, after Sebastian Vettel has already taken them to “another level”.
Alonso signed for the Silverstone-based team in the days after Vettel announced his retirement from Formula 1, the Spaniard leaving Alpine on a multi-year deal at a time when Aston Martin is looking to make big strides in competitiveness.
The first of three buildings in the team’s new factory is due to be completed in May. Staff will move into their new offices midway through the season as they prepare for a significant upgrade to their facilities following several years of investment by team owner Lawrence. Strolling around.
After two successive P7 finishes in the constructors’ standings, Aston Martin will push for a speed leap over their rivals in 2023, although their team boss admitted there is a difference of approach between the two multiple world champions in the way they operate. their job.
“That’s a good question,” Krack said in an interview with AS when asked why signing Alonso could be a “step further” to Vettel.
“Because Seb is a four-time world champion, but he is a different person, he made the decision to stop when Fernando made the decision to continue longer, that changes the motivation of the team. There is dynamics in the team around that.
“We are thankful for what Sebastian has brought, he has taken the team to another level; but the combination of the underlying investment and the hunger of Fernando will take us even further.”
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Krack also remains confident that Alonso’s talent and raw speed will remain untouched as he prepares for two decades in Formula 1, to the extent that he sees him on the cutting edge under similar circumstances – although it’s up to the task of the team is to make sure the AMR23 is okay. a position to enable him to race as far up the field as possible.
“In a car identical to everyone else’s, front row,” Krack said of Alonso’s speed potential. “The main task is to provide Fernando with a car that is capable of doing that. If we produce it, he’ll put it where it needs to be.
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel are fundamentally different drivers
Vettel admitted prior to his retirement that although he and Alonso have spent many years together at the front of the field playing the dice for race wins, they don’t actually know each other very well when they are away from the track.
Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer, formerly of Aston Martin himself, said last year he feels they are comparable to work with. doing.”
So while their end goal is the same and they are both among the most talented and successful Formula 1 drivers in the history of the sport, their careers are proof that there is more than one way to lead a successful F1 career.
