Eyebrows were raised earlier in the season when Fernando Alonso announced that he would be swapping high flying Alpine for Aston Martin next year, with his new team finishing seventh in the constructors’ championship.
It seemed like an obvious step down for the Spaniard, with Alpine only a step away from challenging for podiums at times, while Aston Martin were scraping points wherever possible.
Coming towards the end of the season Alonso’s relationship with Alpine, particularly with his teammate Esteban Ocon, broke down and forced all parties to eagerly await the move.
The two-time world champions had grown frustrated with the obscene number of mechanical failures that he had experienced in 2022, retiring from six races over the course of the season.
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Following the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Alonso has been quick to complete the transfer to Aston Martin, taking part in a post season test only days after his final race with Alpine.
While there was a 118 point difference between Alpine and Aston Martin in the championship, Alonso has told reporters that he is pleasantly surprised by the performance of his new car, after he was seen driving an unbranded green car around the Yas Marina circuit.
“I am happily surprised with everything,” he claimed.
“They had a good weekend here – Sebastian qualified ahead of me so I don’t think Aston Martin was much different from the Alpine in the Grand Prix. And here I felt the same – a very competitive car.
“I am much more optimistic now. When I signed, I was 90 per cent happy. When they started to improve and finished the season well, I was 100 per cent happy. Now, after the test, I am above 100 per cent.”
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The Spaniard will be partnered with Lance Stroll for 2022 and has made the bold claim that he sees Aston Martin challenging for titles within the next three years.
This seems to be an unrealistic expectation for the team seeing as Sebastian Vettel secured the teams only ever podium in Baku last year, but nevertheless Alonso is confident.
The 41-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, even at his age, so if there was ever a driver who could defy expectations and turn Aston Martin into a podium scoring team, it would be Fernando Alonso.