Fernando Alonso says he aims to win again after Aston Martin revealed Monday that he will join the club on a multi-year contract starting in 2023.
In stead of German four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the current season and turned 41 on Friday, the twice world champion will drive for the French team Alpine.
“The enthusiasm and commitment to win is clearly applied” by the Aston Martin team, according to Fernando Alonso, who won his first two Formula One championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006. Aston Martin is owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, whose son Lance drives the other car.
Spaniard Alonso, who finished eighth in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix and is presently tenth in the Formula One world championship standings, says that he has known Lawrence and Lance for a long time and it is clear that they have the drive and desire to excel in Formula One racing.
In 2001, he made his Formula One debut in Spain. In the two stints at McLaren and the five years at Ferrari after winning his first world titles with Renault — the forerunner of Alpine — he failed to add any more.
Le Mans 24 Hours, Indianapolis 500, and Dakar Rally are all races he has competed in since he departed Formula One in 2018.
With Alpine in 2021, Alonso re-entered Formula One, claiming his 98th and most recent podium at the Qatar Grand Prix. The last time he won a race was at the 2013 Catalan Grand Prix, but he is anxious to add to his record of 32 victories.
Spaniard Alonso said, “I have not lost my appetite and desire to contend for the top positions in racing, and I am looking for a team that is devoted to learning, developing, and succeeding.”
This sport is all about winning again, so I have to seize the moments that present themselves to me.
Reigning Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel has tipped Mick Schumacher, son of Michael Schumacher, to succeed him as Red Bull team-mate and successor.
Alonso’s abundance of expertise has been sought instead by the British squad, which is currently developing under Stroll’s leadership since 2020.
An official statement from Aston Martin read, “The whole organization is very delighted to bring Fernando’s immense expertise and brilliant pace and racecraft to the squad.”.
When an organization commits itself to Formula One racing, it shows its intent by hiring a talented driver like Fernando Alonso.