Fernando Alonso switched teams from Alpine to Aston Martin before the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season. And ever since then, the Spanish legend has had nothing but praise for his teammate Lance Stroll. This over-friendly behavior has raised a lot of eyebrows throughout the paddock and F1 fans are also pretty amused as they haven’t really seen this side of Alonso ever.
British media house The Race has listed quite a few possible reasons behind this behavior by Alonso. Right from the fact that Lance Stroll’s father owns Aston Martin, to the possibility that the Spaniard does not view Lance Stroll as a threat to him. There are various reasons why Alonso has been flattering Lance Stroll from the very start of the season
Fernando Alonso Has Even Helped Out Lance Stroll In The Middle Of A Race
Alonso has gone to great lengths while talking about his Canadian teammate. The Spaniard has even suggested that Lance Stroll has the capabilities required to become a Formula 1 World Champion in the future. Alonso called Lance Stroll his hero after the Canadian made his appearance in the Bahrain Grand Prix, just two weeks after undergoing surgery for broken wrists.
This budding bromance didn’t just stop outside the track. During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when Lance Stroll was stuck behind Lewis Hamilton, Alonso gave a suggestion to his Aston Martin teammate regarding the brake balance settings over the radio.
Fernando Alonso giving Lance Stroll braking advice, before Stroll almost loses the car under braking 😅 pic.twitter.com/DQWkv1nOe6
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 30, 2023
According to British media house The Race, there are a lot of reasons at play behind the sudden surge of love being shown by Alonso. He knows very well that it is the teammate’s father who is paying his salary. Therefore, it doesn’t really hurt to keep a good relationship with the team owner’s son.
Another reason might be that Fernando Alonso does not really view Lance Stroll as a threat. He knows that Lance had quite a way to go before he reaches the level that he performs at. Therefore, he is more than happy to help out the Canadian.
It should also be noticed that if Alonso manages to make his teammate look good, then he will get more credit for beating him constantly. The Spaniard also believes that his previous teammate, Esteban Ocon, always wanted to compete against Alonso.
However, that is not the case with Lance Stroll, who is more focused on working together with Fernando Alonso for the good of Aston Martin. Therefore, it is quite evident that it is quite a complex cocktail of reasons that are making Alonso act so friendly with Stroll.
There Are Various Reasons At Play Behind The Overt Display of Affection By Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso has however claimed that he has always been a team player. He said that he has always tried to help out his teammates, but it is only now that the Formula 1 media team decided to broadcast it.
However, not everybody is on board with Alonso’s explanation. F1 pundit and former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor believes that all of it is a facade. The ‘true’ Alonso does not care one bit about this display of affection and all of it is an act to create a good image of him.
