Formula 1 Bahrain GP
Alonso "brought a huge amount of energy" to Aston Martin F1
Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows says two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has "brought a huge amount of energy" to his new Formula 1 team.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Mar 8, 2023, 7:23 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alonso caused a huge twist in F1's transfer market last summer by signing a deal with Aston Martin, leaving Alpine after two seasons.
Ahead of his 19th season in F1, the 41-year-old has looked as hungry and ambitious as ever, hoping his decision to jump ship will pay off as the AMR23 looked promising in Bahrain testing.
According to the team's tech chief Fallows, Alonso has injected his new team - his sixth different outfit in F1 - with energy on his arrival.
"He is clearly a very impressive chap; he is incredibly motivated, incredibly competitive and he’s brought a huge amount of energy to the team," Fallows said.
"He has been very impressive from the moment he got in the car last year and his feedback is where you expect it to be for somebody with his level of experience.
"He has the ability to diagnose issues with the car in a way that we, as an engineering team, are very, very pleased with."
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, with a team member in the garage
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
In Alonso the Silverstone team has attracted another world champion to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
While Fallows acknowledged the two are "different", Alonso's enthusiasm is infectious for the entire operation.
"They are different people, for sure," Fallows said. "But I think you know Fernando's still got a huge amount of energy.
"He is still very, very keen to go racing and he keeps saying that he’ll just carry on as long as he can possibly go, so that’s very infectious.
"It’s been great for the team to come round and say hello to people. We have various Spanish members of the team as well, who were incredibly excited that he’s arrived. So yeah, it’s been great having him onboard so far."
Read Also:
- Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design won't copy F1 rivals
- Red Bull holds exploratory talks with McLaren over F1 engine supply deal
- Bahrain GP: Perez tops first F1 practice from Alonso, Verstappen
Aston Martin's pace during winter testing caused quite a stir in the paddock, with Alonso's long-run pace suggesting that the team could mix it up with Ferrari and Red Bull, but according to Fallows there were too many variables to draw solid conclusions.
But Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll did look competitive again in Friday's FP2 for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in similar night-time conditions encountered during qualifying and the race.
Alonso finished top after demoting Red Bull's reigning world champion Max Verstappen by 0.169s.
Stroll finished sixth on his first day in the car after missing testing due to a wrist injury, which ruled out the Canadian for last week's pre-season test.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 results: Fernando Alonso fastest in Bahrain GP practice
Next article Hamilton fears Mercedes worse than in F1 2022 and on "wrong track"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
Formula 1
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
Latest news
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 23 min
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
49 min
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
2 h
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe