Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is looking forward to his working relationship with Fernando Alonso when the Spaniard joins the team next season.
Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from Formula 1 at the end of the season ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix and, just a few days later, Alonso was announced as his replacement.
It was thought that the 41-year-old had already made an agreement with billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll in advance even of this season; all he had to do was say yes.
He signed the paperwork over the weekend in Budapest, and the Monday morning after the race saw the British side issue a press release announcing that they had swapped one world champion out for another.
Alonso had told Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer that he had not signed for anyone else when the Romanian-American asked him about it – quintessential mind games from the double world champion.
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It is indeed the sharpness of the double world champion’s mind, on top of a multitude of other things, that Krack is looking forward to next year.
“[Fernando] just has that killer instinct, no matter what, you know that he will always give you everything,” he said, quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“[He will] always push 100 per cent, always extract the maximum from the car and the team, his racecraft is exceptional – a formidable combination of confidence, instinct and intelligence.
“He will demand a lot from us, but that’s to be expected from a multiple World Champion.
“Fernando will be a driving force as we climb together and, like everyone in the team, I cannot wait to work with him.”
Stroll has a five-year plan to earn the ultimate honour in motorsport – winning the Formula 1 title, but things have not gone Aston Martin’s way this year.
The Silverstone-based side have scored points on nine occasions between Vettel and Lance Stroll, and they are yet to make the third and final qualifying session with both cars – their only three appearances have been made by the German.
Their lack of pace over one lap was accredited by Vettel as one of the main reasons the team have struggled to get consistent points on the board, but they are laying the foundations.
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New sidepods, a new rear wing and a more solid development base are giving them optimism that they can create a good package for the future, and the new facility built in Silverstone is a symbol of their ambition.
Add signing one of the best drivers in the history of the sport to that list, and it is clear that Aston Martin are keen to go places.
“Signing Fernando is a clear statement of our intent at Aston Martin F1, we are not on the grid to make up the numbers, we are here to win,” explained Krack.
“We are on a journey to the front of the grid and Fernando’s decision to join us on that journey – to have a driver of his calibre believe in the Aston Martin F1 project – is a great compliment to our team and the work we are doing.
“The prospect of having Fernando and Lance in the car next year is a hugely exciting one.”
Aston Martin are currently ninth in the Constructors’ Standings, while Alonso’s Alpine side are up in fourth at the top of the midfield battle.