The consistency of Alpine has been one of the feel-good stories of the Formula One season. Having struggled under the Renault name at the back end of the last decade, they’ve put themselves into the top four of the Constructors’ Championship and dragged themselves above an unpredictable McLaren outfit.
One man who has been crucial in reshaping Alpine, is two-time Drivers’ Championship winner Fernando Alonso. He dominated the sport in 2005 and 2006 in that famous Renault and has pretty much been a constant, aside from spells in the World Endurance Championship and IndyCar, since making his debut way back in 2001. When he takes to the track in Singapore next time out, it will be his 350th Grand Prix start, taking him past current record holder Kimi Raikonnen.
But next season the Spaniard takes on another different challenge as he fills the boots of the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. In comparison to Alpine, Aston Martin’s season has been pretty turgid. They only sit above Williams in the Constructors’ Championship and have amassed just 25 points in total, with the departing German accounting for 20 of those.
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Midway through the 2023 season, Alonso will turn 42, a remarkable age for a driver that has given so much to the sport. But with age, has come almost infinite wisdom and a major desire to improve teams. We saw this at Alpine as his influence clearly put pressure on the team to make positive changes. You simply can’t deliver an underperforming car with one of the all-time greats at the wheel.
Previously, his influence has appeared slightly overbearing to his teammate in the paddock as all focus and attention has been on his car, but that has changed this season as Esteban Ocon has more than held his own and currently has more points than Alonso.
That means he will equal Kimi Raikkonen's record of the most race starts in F1 👊
#ItalianGP #F1 @alo_oficial
Aston Martin know what a challenge welcoming the Spaniard on board will be. But it is a necessary one if they are to improve on their lowly position in 2023. Billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll has his son in the other car, and the Canadian will get the finest schooling from the two-time champ.
Team boss Mike Krack told the BBC about the decision and how his team should benefit from Alonso’s arrival.
“He can push us, more than a driver who does not have that calibre. It will maybe be much more difficult than it is now. We discussed this. We said: 'What are the pros and cons?' And we came to the conclusion that it is the right step."
"It will be challenging for us. Normally, drivers with this experience do not have this desire to win. Normally, this desire goes down, especially if they have won already.
"Fernando has this unique combination of speed, hunger, motivation and experience. For us, it makes the perfect candidate. The downside could be that if the car we deliver is just not good enough, then we know it gets difficult. But it gets difficult with every driver if the car is not fast enough.”
Krack has hit the nail on the head. There is clearly added pressure now Alonso is on the way. Aston Martin cannot be as bad as they have been this year, and the Spaniard has already proved he can drive a team onto better things. He’ll be a major miss for Alpine, but their loss is Aston Martin’s gain.
