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Fernando Alonso has said that his Aston Martin predecessor Sebastian Vettel might not have capitalised on the team's potential in 2023.
Alonso left Alpine at the end of last year and joined Aston Martin as Vettel's replacement after the German retired from the sport. The Spaniard's move seems to have come at the right time, as the Silverstone-based team have emerged as the second-fastest team on the grid this season.
Alonso, who has finished on the podium in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, finds himself third in the drivers' standings, only trailing Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. At this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth and could find himself on the podium again on Sunday (April 2).
Asked after his qualification in Melbourne if Vettel had retired before he could reap the benefits of Aston Martin’s rise, Alonso said (via PlanetF1):
“I don’t know if he could have made the Aston Martin that fast, so you never know.”
Two-time world champion Alonso, who never shies away from speaking his mind, also took a dig at Mercedes Down Under.
After the Silver Arrows qualified second and third at Albert Park, the Spaniard said that their W14 is not as bad as Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes make it out to be. Fernando Alonso told Sky Sports:
“They were definitely very fast in Jeddah already, and they were fast in FP2. They are always fast. If you read their comments, it seems like they have a car that is out of Q3, but it is a fast car.”
Aston Martin boss credits Fernando Alonso for bringing winning mentality to team
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has credited Fernando Alonso with bringing a winning mentality to the team since his arrival. The motorsports engineer from Luxembourg said that Alonso's energy in Saudi Arabia has been infectious:
“It’s like we are riding on the wave, it feels like, and him especially. It’s very good for us. He is very inspirin; he pushes the team forward like that, and everybody is just really flat out trying to do as much as possible.”
Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has also been left impressed by Alonso's impact on the team. He reckons the 41-year-old is not very far from winning a race, telling Reuters:
“What really impresses me about Fernando is the fact that he’s 41, and he’s exactly the same Fernando with the same hunger as I met in 2007. There’s no difference whatsoever in his approach, how hard he’s working and how hard he’s trying and pushing everyone.”
He added:
“Physically he’s young, he’s been taking care of himself, and he’s pushing incredibly hard in every little detail – not only on the car, on the team, but also physically on his training regime, on his diet. He’s a very complete athlete.”
Fernando Alonso (30) is behind Verstappen (44) and Perez (43) after two races.
