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Aston Martin have signed Fernando Alonso for 2023 as the Spaniard fills Sebastian Vettel’s seat.
Fernando Alonso driving the A522 during the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 31, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement just before the Hungarian Grand Prix. Speculation surrounded who would fill the seat and partner Lance Stroll, with names such as Nyck de Vries being talked about.
However, today Aston Martin announced that they have signed Fernando Alonso for a multi-year deal. This means that Alonso will be leaving the French outfit of BWT Alpine.
On their website, Aston Martin released the statement and then published it on their social media. The statement said: “The whole company is very excited to bring Fernando’s incredible experience and brilliant pace and race craft to the team.
“The recruitment of a special talent such as Fernando is a clear statement of intent from an organisation that has committed to developing a winning Formula One team.”
Alonso’s Comments
Alonso is the oldest driver on the Formula One grid, having just turned 41 last weekend. Whilst he did leave the sport for a short while, he came back and it’s clear he has no intentions of leaving F1. He said:
“I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be a part of an organisation that is committed to learn, develop and succeed.”
When commenting on joining Aston Martin, Alonso said they are “clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula One history.” He added that “it is very obvious” that both Lawrence and Lance Stroll “have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula One.”
Currently, Alpine, now Alonso’s former team, are fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Alpine have 99 points, which is 79 more than Aston Martin, who are ninth.
Despite Aston Martin’s unfortunate season this year, Alonso has faith in his new team. He said that he has watched as “the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees.” Alonso continued saying he has “become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and new resources at Silverstone,” which all go towards improving the team’s performance.
Aston Martin’s Comments
Mike Krack, the Team Principal, has said he has “witnessed the excitement in the engineering team and throughout the whole organisation at the opportunity to work with Fernando.” Krack added that “everyone can learn from someone of Fernando’s calibre” – a two-time world champion.
These positive comments were echoed by Lawrence Stroll, the Executive Chairman.
Stroll said “it has always been clear that [Alonso] is a committed winner like me.” He wants to “bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organisation to succeed” in F1. And it only “seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be a part of the development of a winning team.”
With an empty seat now at Alpine, who will take the step up as Esteban Ocon’s teammate?
Headline Feature Image: GettyImages