Aston Martin entered Formula 1 with high hopes in 2021, taking over Racing Point, however their F1 venture so far has not quite gone to plan, finishing seventh in both seasons.
Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel have made up their driver pairing in both seasons, and while both have shown their quality, the team have not been able to provide their drivers with the machinery required to lead them to better results.
Following Vettel’s decision to retire, Aston Martin have replaced the German with another veteran, bringing in Fernando Alonso from Alpine in a shock move during the summer break.
Following the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Alonso was granted permission to take part in Aston Martin’s post-season testing, allowing Pierre Gasly was allowed to drive his Alpine during the same tests.
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Alonso has been very positive about his time so far with his new team, claiming that the sky is the limit for Aston Martin as he boldly targets a third championship victory.
“This is obviously a completely different project, and I’m so happy. I cannot be over-confident because everything is going to change next year,” claimed the Spaniard.
“But the feeling I had in the garage with the guys, the potential of the team, the talent I saw in the engineering room is outstanding.”
The 41-year-old has also suggested that himself and Lance Stroll have buried the hatchet of their collision in Austin earlier this year, telling reporters that he has been sharing set-up feedback with his new teammate during the test.
“It was in the programme to try to squeeze as many laps as possible and then for Lance to feel a few changes that we made, that were needed for me, in terms of the steering feeling and things like that,” explained Alonso.
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“So it was good to have Lance in the car to see if he also felt a benefit and if we could run similar settings next year.”
The new regulations that were introduced at the beginning of the 2022 season were implemented to allow closer racing and bunch the field up in terms of quality.
Aston Martin will be hoping to take advance of the FIA’s efforts to make the grid more competitive, as they look to add to the single podium they have in their trophy cabinet, won by Sebastian Vettel in Baku last year.