Fernando Alonso’s next team leader returns to the fore to clarify doubts and reveal the real reason why the two-time Spanish champion has chosen them to join them from next year.
10 a.m. on August 1, 2022: that was the exact moment in which Aston Martin left everyone with their mouths open by issuing a statement in which they revealed that Fernando Alonso would drive for them from next season.
With his future practically tied to Alpine In the absence of closing the last fringes of the contract, or so Otmar Szafnauer believed, the two-time Spanish champion in Formula 1 confessed, already on vacation, that he would add one more team to his personal list in Formula 1 after Minardi, Renault, McLaren , Ferrari and Alpine.
“Fernando is a racing machine […] he is determined to perform and compete at the highest level and sees Aston Martin as the team that will allow him to do so.”
But… what makes #14 think that his future will be better with the current one? 9th grid team instead of with the 4th which is Alpine? Mike Krack, who will be his next boss in the premier category of motorsports, has revealed the keys that served to convince the Spaniard.
Project with guarantees
«We were always focused on Sebastian [Vettel]but we pressed for an answer before the summer holidays, because the longer these discussions go on, the more problems arise, “the ex-BMW began by explaining.
«The ball didn’t start rolling until Wednesday in the afternoon before the Hungarian Grand Prix, when Sebastian confirmed his plans and told us that he wanted to retire. The next day we formally contacted Fernando. A few days later, the deal was closed », he detailed.
So what convinced you to join the team? «Fernando is a machine, a racing machine. He is fully focused on racing, is determined to perform and compete at the highest level and sees Aston Martin as the team that will enable him to do so.”
“Ferdinand see the potential of the team – the new facilities we are building, the people we are hiring, the investment that is being made, the steps forward that the Aston Martin brand is taking – and he sees it as an opportunity. Aston Martin is the best chance for him to achieve his ambitions», he pointed out.
age and times
Although Alonso has guaranteed that his 41 years still with the racing bug intact, the man from Oviedo is the oldest on the current grid. Is that a setback for Aston Martin’s interests?
“I don’t see Fernando’s age as a problem”Krack snapped. “For me nothing changes. You have to judge him on his speed and his performance on the track, and it’s clear he’s as good as ever. Also, isn’t 40 the new 30? I have turned 50 this year and people tell me that they are the new 40. If that is true, then Fernando is only 31 years old », he joked.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that we have many years ahead together, if we can make the progress we need with the competitiveness of the car. Last season and this season we have underperformed as a team; we know that we must offer a leading car », he concluded.