The opinion of his former boss in F1 was important in order to start this new adventure.
When Fernando Alonso decided to join Aston Martin and his new destination was communicated at the beginning of August 2022, the Spanish move was described as risky, since he was leaving a team placed fourth in the World Cup to sign for the one at the bottom. of the classification.
Alonso himself, naturally, had his doubts before signing his new contract with the British team, and for this reason he did not hesitate to seek advice from one of his friends in the Great Circus and, at the same time, one of his advisors: Flavio Briatore . The Italian, let’s remember, was his boss at Renault when he was proclaimed champion.
“I didn’t have 100% confidence in what the teams are counting in August,” Alonso said in an interview with Sky Sports F1. Despite this, Fernando’s desire to start another adventure outside of Alpine and Briatore’s support did the rest: on August 2, the two-time Asturian champion was announced as an Aston Martin F1 driver for 2023 and 2024.
Apparently, Briatore conveyed to Alonso his confidence in the Aston Martin project, led by Lawrence Stroll. Along with the British businessman, important personnel signings such as Dan Fallows (technical director) or Martin Whitmarsh (director of Aston Martin Performance Technologies) have arrived, as well as a large financial investment.
“Flavio (Briatore) was quite interested in the Aston Martin project. I think he saw the investment, he saw the vision of Lawrence (Stroll) who is obviously a very important leader in the team, and if Lawrence has a goal, he will achieve it. Alonso explained in the interview.
“In the end he will get it. It may take him two, five or seven years, but he will get it, and I think that Flavio was betting very strongly on the Aston Martin project,” he said. “I like this vision of having no limits. I think Lawrence has some pretty contagious leadership and everyone on the team believes what he thinks.”
“With a Formula 1 team you need to have this kind of boss, and a voice that sets the direction and I like this team and also my role in the team, I am aware of my role, perfectly fine and I accept it,” he said.
At the moment, it cannot be said that Alonso made any mistake by joining Aston Martin, rather the opposite. At this start of the 2023 season, the Asturian has four podiums in five races and is second in the Drivers’ Championship. And the adventure has only just begun…