Fernando Alonso is the absolute protagonist of the 2023 World Cup Formula 1, and that has not yet managed to get on the top drawer of the podium. However, their competitive resurrection thanks to the best decision of his career in almost 15 years, by switching to Aston Martin from Alpine, he has dazzled half the world again, all those who walked away not to see him suffer anymore.
Howevernot even he could predict when he made the decision that Aston Martin would go from being the seventh team to the second in just one year, and that it would be so close to emulating what was achieved by the extinct team Brawn GP in his first season competing, in 2009. A comparison that many have made, and that Fernando has now rescued.
In fact, Alonso has spoken of similarities, but has also highlighted the great difference between Aston Martin and the structure that passed into the hands of Mercedes in 2010: “Brawn GP took a huge leap. But the biggest jump is probably from Aston Martin, without a regulatory change involved.“, has pointed out the two-time world champion.
Don’t forget what happened with Brawn GP. The defunct Honda teamthe same one that now powers Red Bull and that dynamited Alonso’s hopes at McLaren between 2015 and 2018, was rescued for just a token pound por Ross Brawnafter finish in 2008 as the penultimate team Of the grill. Within a few months, they were winning everything and dominating every Grand Prix.
The Aston Martin case is different, but the resemblance is evident. The good thing for the British team is that they have much more room for improvement than Brawn GP had in his time, and they will have more time to live to fight for important things. This is probably the last stage in Formula 1 of the 41-year-old driverand if it is close to how glorious it was for that team in 2009, it will mean that the AMR23 is that silver bullet that Alonso harbored to fight again.
The Anglo-Saxon structure finished seventh in the 2022 campaign and is now second in the constructors’ championship, accumulating podiums and who knows if victories in the near future. All this thanks to its regulatory advantages in the development of the single-seater compared to the competition, especially in terms of wind tunnel and budget cap.
In addition, Fernando remembers more examples of similar qualitative leaps in short periods of time, just what he needs and what Aston Martin is achieving. One of them was the Ferrari between 2020 and 2022when they went from offering mid-grid performance to fighting for the title against Red Bull: “At Ferrari They were very bad and the following year they fought for the World Cupwinning two of the first three races. But it was also with a change of regulation“.
For the man from Oviedo, there are currently more obstacles that prevent the repetition of heroics such as those mentioned. However, Aston Martin is achieving the unthinkable: “It is very difficult to do something like this with the budget limit, but we have very talented people in the team. It’s been a positive start so far and I hope this is just the beginning.”
The present is positive and encouraging, but the future looks even better. One of the main people responsible for that future for Aston Martin, with a new factory in 2024, is undoubtedly the billionaire owner of the British team, Lawrence Stroll. The Canadian entrepreneur has seen his passion for F1 reinforced thanks to Fernando, and has made a stellar team available to him, led by Dan Fallows.
That is why Alonso has such good words for Stroll, considered by the Asturian as a person with initiative and ambition who has paved his way since he arrived at the headquarters in Silverstone, where he is also surrounded by Spanish engineers and workers: “I am very happy and very proud of his leadership. He has the vision of a winning team in the future in the short term, despite the obstacles and whatever the cost.”
Likewise, the persuasion and insistence of the director of Aston Martin has allowed the British formation to surpass Mercedes and Ferrari today: “Normally, when he has an idea, he follows through.. For this reason It’s interesting to have a leader like him because you know you have everything you need behind you. and the team is in good hands, no matter what he asks for.”
