Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is confident Fernando Alonso will help the team “even further”, after Sebastian Vettel has already taken it to a “different level”.
Alonso signed for the Silverstone-based team in the days after Vettel announced his retirement from Formula 1, with the Spaniard leaving Alpine on a multi-year deal at a time when Aston Martin is looking to make big strides in terms of competitiveness.
The first of three buildings in the team’s new factory is set to be completed by May, with staff set to move into their new offices mid-season as they prepare for a major upgrade to their facilities, after several years of investment by team owner Lawrence Flâner.
After two consecutive P7 finishes in the constructors’ standings, Aston Martin will push for a leap over their rivals in 2023, although their team boss has admitted there is a difference in approach between the two multiples. world champions in the way they do it. their work.
“That’s a good question,” Krack said in an interview with AS when asked why signing Alonso could be a “step further” for Vettel.
“Because Seb is a quadruple world champion, but he’s a different person, he made the decision to stop when Fernando made the decision to continue longer, it changes the motivation of the team. There is a dynamic in the team around that.
“We are grateful for what Sebastian has brought, he has taken the team to a different level; but the combination of the investment behind it and Fernando’s hunger will take us even further.
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Krack also remains convinced that Alonso’s talent and raw speed remain intact as he prepares to mark two decades in Formula 1, so much so that he sees him just at the forefront under equal circumstances – although the team’s job is to make sure that the AMR23 is in a position to allow him to run as far as possible in the peloton.
“In a car like any other, in the front row,” Krack said of Alonso’s speed potential. “The main task is to provide a car that can do that for Fernando. If we produce it, he will put it where it needs to be.
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel fundamentally different drivers
Vettel admitted before his retirement that although he and Alonso had spent many years together at the front of the field to achieve race victories, they did not know each other too well away from the track.
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, formerly of Aston Martin himself, said last year he thought they were similar to work with, however, describing them as “different in personality, but similar in their demands to be able to go faster, about what they do.”
So while their end goal is the same and they both rank among the most talented and successful Formula 1 drivers in the sport’s history, their careers are proof that there are more way to a successful career in F1.