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F1 presenter David Croft lauded Fernando Alonso's team spirit at Aston Martin. The Briton claims that without exceptional unity within a team, there can be no success and Alonso is at the forefront of the British team's current success.
The two-time world champion made the podium yet again in 2023 at the Monaco GP, this time taking second place behind Max Verstappen. The Spaniard made absolutely no mistakes on track but seemingly lost out to Verstappen when his team called him in for slick tires in rainy conditions.
With his latest podium in Monte Carlo, the 41-year-old has appeared on the podium in five out of six races.
Fernando Alonso was amazingly patient with his new team when they made the mistake of putting him on slick tires, a trait that has impressed David Croft. Speaking about the two-time world champion on the Sky F1 podcast, Croft said:
"He is the team player that I have always wanted Fernando Alonso to be because you have to be that team player - without your team, you're never going to win races. And you have to get the team on your side. Be nice to the crew and the crew will be nice to you."
Did Aston Martin cost Fernando Alonso the win in Monaco?
According to 2009 world champion Jenson Button, if Fernando Alonso's team had opted for the right tire strategy during the 2023 Monaco GP, he would have been closer to race-winner Max Verstappen by the end of the race.
However, Button believes Alonso would have still fallen short of securing the victory. Despite his efforts, the Spaniard finished the race in second place behind Verstappen, unable to match the pace of the Dutchman.
In a questionable move, Aston Martin decided to pit Alonso towards the end of the race and fit him with medium tires, even though the track was clearly too wet for such slick compounds.
Consequently, the two-time world champion had to return to the pits on the following lap to switch to intermediate tires. This unfortunate pit stop cost Alonso valuable time, allowing the reigning world champion Max Verstappen to maintain his advantage.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Button said:
“He’ll be happy with that result, that was as good as they were going to do. Even if they went on the right tyre, it would have been a close call coming out of the pits but the Red Bull was just too fast.”
With a 33rd victory within touching distance now for the Spaniard, it will be interesting to watch the two-time world champion drive in Spain this weekend.
