Fernando Alonso has signed up for Aston Martin and will drive for them in 2023. Already at the age of 41, he is brought in to make the Silverstone-based team contending for the title before he leaves.
The British team accepts that Alonso would be demanding a lot of push in resources while he serves them. Moreover, he is a tough driver to manage, history with his past teams is a testament to that.
He has started working with his new team as the 2023 season is approaching rapidly. Next month, all the teams will be involved in the winter testing, and Alonso has a special demand.
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Fernando Alonso makes expensive demand
Next year, F1 will have 23 races, but a driver’s legal engine pool is only three. Most teams also assign three engines to their drivers, especially if a team are on a low budget. Only if required do they dare to go beyond the limit and risk penalties.
But according to Objective, Alonso’s first request is to expand the pool of engines for him and his teammate Lance Stroll to four from three. That would be an added expense of $21 million for Aston Martin.
While engines don’t fall under the cost cap regulations, it could personally affect the personal budget of Aston Martin if his demand is accepted, as eight engines mandated from the start of the season would bill $42 million to them.
Aston Martin is a customer of Mercedes instead of a manufacturer. The two sides, for a few years, even during Racing Point days, have been intimate.
Aston Martin is coming up with a new factory
Lawrence Stroll invested in Aston Martin to bring the luxury car brand to F1. His vision ever since he entered as the team owner has been to bring his side to the top.
Racing Point had some glorious days. However, since their rebranding as Aston Martin, the team hasn’t lived up to its potential and promises. Even Sebastian Vettel had an underwhelming stint.
With Alonso, things might change. He is not going away from the sport for 2-3 years more. His sound technical knowledge can bring them upward unless the relations between the two sides remain stable.
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