Formula 1 has launched its holidays, but not before without a final earthquake shaking, and how, the path of the ‘silly season’. Without warning and to everyone’s surprise. It was announced on Monday the unexpected signing of Fernando Alonso by Aston Martin, to the surprise of Alpine, who practically took the renewal with the Spaniard for granted. All that was missing was the signature, but it only took a few hours for the whole thing to explode. four trading days and a message on Twitter confirmed the worst nightmare for the French brand, which had to say goodbye to your star pilot.
And it is that, despite the rumors that shook the paddock and Sebastian Vettel’s surprising forfeit as everyone bet on his continuity, the option to see Alonso dressed in green was something receding on the horizon. But the project convinced him and, above all, this multi-year contract, of which few details have been provided. The bomb of this transfer market which, even, Pedro De La Rosa couldn’t see. “This move by Alonso caught us all off guard. It’s amazing how this news went unnoticed during the Hungarian GP weekend; they hid it well, Fernando and Aston Martin,” a- did he admit in spanish in The spar by Cadena SER.
And they were very clear about that. The Silverstone team wanted to “continue with Vettel” and, although they thought the continuity of the champion was something almost obvious, they kept in mind the perfect replacement for the German. Champion by champion, to show people that his project is more serious than ever. And it didn’t take long to seal it on paper. “When a transfer is done in so few hours is that the predisposition to sign at the very top, both ways”, reveals De La Rosa, impressed by “the agility and speed of negotiations” during a race weekend and aware that, Aston Martin, it will be “a winning project, sooner or later”. And the team’s million-dollar investment is Alonso’s biggest motivation for opting for this new Formula 1 adventure. .
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Ambition
But is this the best option for the Spaniard? Aston Martin is ninth overall, in front of an Alpine which is fourth, behind Mercedes. Only Alonso himself has the answer, but De La Rosa, who already visited the team’s project just a few days ago, is clear: “The investment is there, it’s a fact. The team is growing fast, but they needed a driver like Fernando to generate that extra motivation in people and that illusion. It is a message to the world: “we are serious and we want to win”. If they sign Alonso, it’s not to be in the middle of the table.
“I’m very happy. In the end, people were very surprised by this signing. Many see it as a step back from Aston Martin’s position. It’s a worse team (next to Alpine) now, but it’s a brand that invests a lot”, explains Pedro, aware that Fernando still has “two or three more good years, at least” within a “progressive” team. “I love this marriage. If I had been in his place, I would have done the same”, he admits optimistic in front of a “winning and ambitious” project. Because, without a doubt, the signing of Alonso will mean “brutal motivation” for Aston Martin, “a good letter of introduction to sign engineers” which, incidentally, has already begun.
The goal? More than clear: “’The Plan’ continues. ‘The Plan’ is to win again. In the end, Fernando won’t tell, but he changed his plan because this one is considered a better plan. It’s a good change, I like it a lot and this is the correct address. People don’t know what’s behind Aston Martin.”