Alpine’s 2022 season was full of highs and lows, as their awful reliability issues put a dampener on what was an impressive year for the French team.
The team finished as the best of the rest behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes but Fernando Alonso was forced to retire from a shocking six races over the course of the season.
The Spaniard grew frustrated with the team and their problems and announced over the summer break that he would move to Aston Martin in 2023 to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
At 41 years of age, Alonso’s continued appearance in Formula 1 is made even more impressive by the fact that without his engine woes last year, he could even have overtaken Lando Norris and been the best of the rest driver.
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The Spaniard has explained that his new team are certainly on the way up, having been impressed with the quality of staff in the team during his post-season test with Aston Martin in Abu Dhabi.
Former F1 driver Mark Webber has recently been previewing the 2023 season and while he has admitted that seeing new faces in the sport is always a good thing, Alonso’s prolonging career makes for equally impressive viewing.
“There are going to be a lot of fresh driver lineups, the honeymoon period goes over pretty quickly,” Webber told Speedcafe.
“It’s always good to see the rookies. Fresh blood coming in is good for the sport.
“But at the other end of the scale, to see Fernando is still going, he just continues to defy the odds at that level for his age. That’s a bit of sport to watch as well.
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“And Lewis [Hamilton], we’ll see how the Mercedes comes out. That will be pivotal as part of his motivation to continue to show the quality that he’s got if Mercedes can get it right.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has urged Lewis Hamilton to look at the likes of Alonso when considering his future in the sport, as the Brit previously claimed that he had no intention to continue racing into his 40’s.
Alonso’s example appears to have affected the 38-year-old, as Hamilton is set to sign a multi-year contract extension with Mercedes before the season starts in March in Bahrain.