Fernando Alonso’s presence at Aston Martin has been invaluable. Despite being well over 40, he joined the Silverstone-based outfit in 2023 with the hopes of winning races with them, and the strong mentality has aided development behind the scenes. Performance Director Tom McCullough spoke about the same recently.
Alonso came to Aston Martin with a proven pedigree, who is in the hunt of winning his third world championship title. However, it’s not just Alonso’s racing abilities that give Aston Martin the edge. It’s the way he responds to feedback.
“He also is very efficient,” McCullough said on BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast. “I’ve talked with a lot of drivers over the years, and some drivers can talk forever.”
While that could seem like a good trait to have, it makes it difficult for engineers to single out what exactly is wrong, or right. Alonso is different. “Everything he says, I listen to. He doesn’t utter one word that isn’t worth listening to.”
McCullough added that Alonso developed the habit of being concise and direct with his feedback through experience, having driven for multiple teams throughout his two-decade-plus career. “He’s like a supercomputer,” he said.
For those working in the garages or back at the factory, giving the right feedback is very important. And Alonso, who is looking to become world champion with Aston Martin before his contract ends in 2026, knows he doesn’t have a huge window to ‘try things out’.
Alonso’s reaction to supercomputer comment
Alonso is 43 years old, and his age and experience are mostly brought into any conversation about him today. But with that, also comes the responsibility to be a leader, especially for a team that is looking to make the next big stride in F1.
Reacting to McCullough comparing him to a human supercomputer, Alonso said, “I think the team needs a little bit… The lead from the drivers in terms of feedback on what the car needs. And also obviously when we go racing every Sunday we have a clear compare with other cars.”
Having raced for Championship winning outfits and also teams that struggled to get into the points, Alonso knows — from a technical perspective — what needs to be done to improve. It is for that reason that he is so important to Aston Martin. Whether he can win them a title or not, remains to be seen.
