Alonso has revealed how Stroll convinced him to sign for Aston Martin

Fernando Alonsoin an interview with GQ magazine, defined the key that allowed him to accept the offer of Aston Martin to sign for the green team and join their exciting future project. The man from Oviedo clarified that, after the announcement of the withdrawal of Vetteltalked to Lawrence Take a Walk, owner of the team, and the Canadian billionaire convinced him, not by his words, but by showing him that everything he says is fulfilled by facts that are part of a clear and concise that plan. Lawrence has shown him that he wants to create a great team and he is putting together all the ingredients for it. These are not promises, but many of the things I need to achieve are coming true. That convinced him.

“I spoke with Lawrence about the possibility of joining the team after the announcement of Sebastian Vettel’s retirement, and he was very convincing when it came to selling the project and all the new people joining,” Fernando commented on the matter this.

“In the design office there are big names coming from different teams. I saw a lot of talent. There is also a new factory built for this year, so there is a big project behind this team, and it is happening, it’s not just words.” The facts backed up Lawrence’s words. I thought it was a logical move for me, if I wanted to aspire to something higher than my previous team. It wasn’t long before we joined forces,” added Fernando Alonso, who made it clear that when he retired from F1, he wasn’t thinking of returning, but everything changed with the pandemic.

I thought I would never go back to F1, but…

“I thought that was it (that I would not return to F1). Maybe it’s something that might be attractive someday in the future. “As I work on different series and projects, I always look at what Formula One is doing.”

“Then, during the pandemic, I remember being at home and putting on the table what possibilities I had for next year after the World Endurance Championship was over. I thought only Formula 1 was in good health. There was a lack of all other categories. However, the sponsors, most of the races have been cancelled, while Formula 1 has remained very strong even during the pandemic. So I thought that the next challenge could be the ultimate challenge: to return to Formula 1 and try to be competitive again.”

His decision to leave Alpine

“I have a lot of respect for Alpine. This is the team (former Renault) that gave me my two world championships, so it will always be in my heart, I will never wish them anything bad. It’s true that every time you change teams you always have something inside that makes you look at your lap times and your position and immediately look at your old team. If they’re behind you, there’s always some relief because ‘you made the right decision.’ Ideally, the Aston Martin would win and the Alpine would come second. Fighting for podiums is the best.”

Podium car at the start of its Aston Martin career

“It was a pleasant surprise, we can’t lie. We had some hope, with new people joining the team. They seem to know what they are doing, but this is a long-term vision. We think that in 2023 we will continue to fight for the top ten, and maybe a podium or two is possible, and then in 2024 we will be a regular podium contender. We found ourselves regularly fighting for podiums in the first half of this season and that was definitely a surprise, so I’m happy. “As you say, after a couple of disappointing years and changes in Formula One, it feels great that this time the team change really paid off.”

The long-awaited victory he was chasing: the 33rd

“I would love for that number 33 to come true. There is a lot of talk about it on social media. 33 is a number I see everywhere and I would love to have it. I feel fresh, I feel fast and I am enjoying the journey with ” Aston Martin. I feel motivated. It’s not time to retire.”

Defend the Walk

“This victory came too soon. It’s not too early, but it’s quite unexpected. Plenty of time for Lance to achieve great results and for us to be champions in the future. I think speed and points don’t tell much, to be honest. There were a few occasions where Lance lost a lot of points: he had an exhaust failure in Jeddah when he was fifth, he had a rear wing problem in Suzuka while fighting for points and we could have been third in the (Constructors) standings. without the least bit of bad luck. Hopefully, that’s the goal; have two drivers score as many points as possible.”

On whether Lewis left F1 with so many non-winning cars

“It’s hard to say. We have different personalities and motivations. Lewis has always been good at staying focused and competitive during the times in his life when he didn’t have a competitive package. Those times weren’t many, but he always performed at a high level.” level. Now he doesn’t have the best car, Red Bull dominates, but he always fights. He was chasing Pérez in P2 and not giving up. It motivates us all to see how Lewis keeps up the motivation. after winning so many titles.”