At 42, Fernando Alonso is the oldest driver on the current grid. The Spaniard, however, is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The 2023 season was a testament to that fact and his former teammate Giancarlo Fisichella has warned the younger crop over his exploits. He recently spoke about how the Aston Martin driver could take F1 by storm if the team gives him a championship-worthy car.
Speaking with Paddocknews24, Fisichella said,
“I would be curious to see him in a car capable of fighting for the title.”
The Italian praised Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as well. However, he remains confident that his former teammate is capable of returning to his old glory days.
Alonso and Fisichella were teammates during their time at Renault in 2005 and 2006. The duo landed the constructors’ championship for their team together. Alonso won both his driver’s championships in those two years.
#OnThisDay in 2006 Renault scored a 1-2 podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Giancarlo Fisichella won the race , with team-mate Fernando Alonso in 2nd. #RSspirit pic.twitter.com/pRWue8XF4W
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) March 19, 2020
The two-time champion bagged 8 podiums in 2023 as Aston Martin took everyone by surprise when the season started. Fisichella, in his review, gave his former teammate as many points for his feat.
Fernando Alonso continues to put faith in Aston Martin despite royal slump
Aston Martin finished the 2022 season on a lowly 7th in the standings. That is why it was surprising when the Silverstone-based team emerged as the 2nd fastest in the first race of 2023. Alonso took full advantage of this purple patch, until it lasted.
The team ran out of steam as the season progressed. With each upgrade package, the AMR23 seemed to get slower. All this while, teams like McLaren made leaps of progress. Mercedes and Ferrari also kept a steady uptick in the graph. This further hurt Fernando & Co. who found podium finishes becoming rarer to come by.
However, the Spaniard hasn’t lost faith in his new team’s project. He is upbeat about the prospects of their prospects in 2024 as the team claims to have identified the areas that need improvement. Team boss Mike Krack too, believes they are capable of bouncing back as they continue to make progress off the track.
Fernando Alonso:
“2023 was incredible season and 2024 will be even better”
EVEN BETTER?
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) January 16, 2024
The work on their new state-of-the-art facility is underway. The team already has its new wind tunnel up and running. Aston Martin also has a number of talented engineers they managed to poach from rivals. That personnel includes the likes of Dan Fallows (Technical Director) who joined from Red Bull.
