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Fernando Alonso's move to join Aston Martin has been questioned by two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. The Brazilian admitted that it is sometimes hard to understand why a driver makes a move or retires from the sport because these are very personal decisions.
Fittipaldi said:
“Fernando Alonso joining Aston Martin will bring a lot of experience (to the team), for sure. He’s very good at setting up the car. He’s running strong with Alpine. I don’t know why he is moving. It’s difficult to know. From the outside, you never know a driver’s decision to change teams, to retire, because it is a very personal decision.”
Fittipaldi admitted that at the moment Alpine appears to be the better package compared to Aston Martin, although the latter has been able to replace one multiple world champion in Sebastian Vettel with another in Fernando Alonso.
He added:
“Alpine is running stronger than Aston Martin now. I hope Fernando, on board, will bring more speed to the team (Aston Martin). But that is very good (after) Sebastian (Vettel). Between Sebastian and Fernando Alonso, they are two great champions, two great talents.”
The former McLaren legend felt that the Spaniard might explain his decision in due time as it did not make sense to speculate on what he had in mind when he made that decision. He said:
“I don’t know why he’s changing but there must be a reason. It’s too far for me to give a comment on why he’s changing. It’s possible that in the next few days Fernando comments why he’s changing, he’ll explain to us.”
Alonso has a multi-year contract with Aston Martin and it does mean that the Spaniard will more or less take part in more than 400 races by the time he retires.
Fernando Alonso explains his decision to join Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso has explained the reasoning behind why he opted to join Aston Martin in the team's press release. The Spaniard talked about how the team had become an attractive destination for quite a few impressive names from other winning teams.
Claiming in a press release that Aston Martin was committed to becoming a frontrunner in F1 and that it appealed to him, Alonso said:
“This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula One today. I have known Lawrence and Lance [Stroll] for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula One.”
He further added:
“I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources at Silverstone. No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me.”
It would be interesting to see how the Alonso-Aston Martin partnership turns out for the Spaniard.
