There is no question that Fernando Alonso is the big MVP at Aston Martin in 2023. His team apparently underestimated the abilities of the Formula 1 veteran before the season.
Before the summer break, things had gotten a little quiet around Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso. After an excellent start to the season, the team around owner Lawrence Stroll was unable to keep up with the other racing teams in the development race.
In Zandvoort, the Greens were suddenly fully involved again – but as usual only with one car: Fernando Alonso’s. In a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix, Alonso made it onto the podium again and was only beaten by the outstanding combination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull (that’s exactly why editor-in-chief Christian Nimmervoll let him sleep particularly well on Sunday).
Did Aston Martin know what coup they managed to sign Alonso? Apparently not at all, as performance engineer Tom McCullough explains: “Working with him is twice as good. He’s so motivated. He works so hard, his preparation, his questions. He also knows how to ask the right questions . I often say that the drivers are one of the best sensors in the car. It’s definitely one of them.”
It was precisely these skills that Aston Martin only realized when he was part of the team. Everything else was conjecture: “We looked at him from the outside when he was at Alpine. Otherwise, of course, we’ve known him for years because he was in the paddock. You can listen to his radio messages. He’s of course at a very high level and he’s quite impressive as a driver.”
Alonso contributes 78 percent of the points for Aston Martin
As one of the main contributors to the car’s on-track performance, McCullough really appreciates the 41-year-old’s feedback: “You have all your data and you try to correlate it and develop it and work hard. You want to understand the very complex world that’s in that we live in. When we think about the tyres, the aerodynamics and everything else, he has the ability to really understand and help you.”
Even with the little things, Alonso helps his team tremendously. Because, according to McCullough, the mastermind always has everything in view: He helps you develop a car, organize a race weekend, the strategy… But the little things are also important: They have to be effective in order to have good pit stops, for example. His work ethic is second to none.”
Even if things don’t go well, Alonso doesn’t stick his head in the sand, but tries everything to push his team forward.
“We really enjoy working with him. Even when we weren’t that competitive he gave us great support and made us strong. He knows he can still do very well in this championship.”
The result is clear: Fernando Alonso has so far contributed 178 of Aston Martin’s 215 points in the constructors’ championship. This means that the equivalent of 78 percent of all counters come from the Spaniard. In the World Championship he is third, while teammate Lance Stroll is only ninth.