Fernando Alonso has recently opened up on how he had doubts before moving to Aston Martin at the beginning of this season. The Spaniard said that the only time he began trusting the project was when former Renault team principal Flavio Briatore expressed optimism.
Alonso won both his championships at Renault in 2005 and 2006 when Briatore was in charge of the team. It is this reason why the 41-year-old has a huge amount of respect for the Italian and often trusts his judgment. Speaking of the same to Sky Sports in a recent interview (as quoted by soymotor.com), Alonso said,
“I did not trust 100% everything the teams tell you in August. Flavio was quite interested in the Aston Martin project. I think he saw the investment. He saw the vision of Lawrence, who, obviously, is a very important leader in the team“.
Fernando Alonso has huge respect for Lawrence Stroll
In the same interview, Fernando Alonso also explained how he has a huge amount of respect for Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll. The Spaniard stated that the two have known each other for over a decade when Lawrence’s son, Lance, was karting.
Speaking of what he likes about Lawrence, Alonso added that he appreciates the fact that the 63-year-old believes that nothing is impossible. Alonso also added that Lawrence has a style of ‘leadership that is quite contagious’.
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The two-time Drivers’ Champion also stated that he enjoys the role he has in the team before concluding by stating that he hopes to help Lance fight for the world championship someday. Alonso believes his role currently is more to help Lance, as it is the Canadian who will lead the team for the upcoming 10-15 years.
Alonso has an outstanding start to the 2023 season
Fernando Alonso has had a dream start to the 2023 season as the lowest he has finished in this campaign so far is fourth. In all the remaining four races, he has finished on the podium.
Consequently of these results, he has so far scored 75 points after five races and is currently third in the championship. While he is 30 points behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, he is a comfortable 19 points clear of old-time rival Lewis Hamilton.