Aston Martin got immediate feedback from Fernando Alonso after his first run as Eric Blandin says the F1 team will have to deliver the car to extract.
Following the departure of Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin immediately had the services of Alonso beside Lance Stroll which was key for the F1 team in this new era. An experienced campaigner is much needed to take the team forward as the German did.
Now with Alonso, they have the chance to extract as much and take the step they need with the infrastructure they are putting in place. The Spaniard thus far has had a single run in Abu Dhabi, and he has made immediate impact as per technical chief Blandin.
“Fernando’s feedback is extremely precise,” said Blandin. “He clearly communicated what he wants from the car and immediately identified a few things that we’ve been able to feed into the design of the AMR23. Last season, Fernando drove a car that was quite different from ours – and more competitive.
“After driving the AMR22, he was quickly able to compare the two cars and say, ‘This is clearly better, this is clearly worse, and this is what we should focus on’,” summed up Blandin, who has previously worked with Alonso in his days at Ferrari. He knows what the Spaniard can do, but he is wary that Aston Martin will need to deliver with the car too.
“Fernando is an outstanding driver,” said Blandin. “There aren’t many drivers of his calibre on the grid – you can count them on one hand. He’s so passionate, so driven… extremely driven. After everything he’s achieved, he still has that restless hunger to win. Signing Fernando was massive for the team. He’s going to push us a lot and help take us to the next level.
“He’ll push Lance, too. They’ll complement each other and he’ll bring out the best in him. We have a very strong driver pairing, and it’s up to us to give them a competitive car. We can have the best driver pairing on the grid, but it won’t count for much if we don’t give them a fast car. We need to deliver,” summed up Blandin.
Building solid foundations. 🤝@alo_oficial | @lance_stroll pic.twitter.com/pq4BToDwTG
— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 4, 2023
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