Fernando Alonso ignited Aston Martin’s ambition to be a world champion someday after he won his podium in 2023. But at the same time, the Spaniard also made his boss Lawrence Stroll $45 million richer, though briefly.
According to a report published by Business F1, the impressive podium performance by Alonso extracted a considerable fortune for Stroll as it boosted Aston Martin Lagonda’s share price for a while.
As per reports, Stroll owns close to 30% shares in the luxury car company. So, the season’s start was fruitful for the Canadian billionaire, but his real aim must be to win the championship with his team.
Fernando Alonso, Flavio Briatore and Lawrence Stroll seen together after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Best caption wins 👇
[@ElReyGuiri]#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/3AB11Iol7i
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 30, 2023
Fernando Alonso is inspiring his men in green
The success in Bahrain followed for over a month as Aston Martin fetched two more podiums. Even Azerbaijan brought in decent results, as Alonso returned home with a P4 result after the race.
But the end of the podium streak would have been uncomforting for the team. However, it also shows that greater things are expected from the Silverstone-based team, as they are touted to be the second-fastest team on the grid this year.
Power ranking after round 4
At last Fernando Alonso is where he deserves to be pic.twitter.com/xK1pyoW77I
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) May 3, 2023
On the other hand, Lawrence Stroll has also mentioned that he aims to win a championship and isn’t satisfied with only podiums. With these rising demands, one could wonder whether this all would have been possible without the excellence of Alonso.
The rising threat from Mercedes and Ferrari
Before the winter testing, nobody expected Aston Martin to disturb the status quo. However, now before every race, they are predicted to finish right behind Red Bull, relegating Ferrari and Mercedes on their way.
Charles Leclerc even confessed that Aston Martin has a better race pace than Ferrari. But Mercedes and Ferrari would not remain silent for long and have already planned on upgrades for the rest of the year.
Lewis post race: “I had pretty decent pace, so just shows we’re on the right path and I think once we get the upgrades we’ll be in a pretty decent place.”
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News ✇ (@MercedesNewsUK) April 30, 2023
So while the entire F1 fraternity knows where the championship will go, the battle for the runner-up spot would get tense in the following weeks. It remains to be seen how the dark horses of F1 this year plan to beat that.
