11/02/2023
NEWS STORY
While not entirely writing off his own chances, Fernando Alonso believes that Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll can be world champion.
The two-time world champion claims his Canadian teammate is underrated and that given the right equipment, presumably a winning Aston Martin, could win the title.
"In Lance, the team has a driver who is super young, super talented and has the possibility to be world champion," the Spaniard tells the team website. "To see him achieve that and have played a part in that, whether that's behind the wheel or not, will be special for me.
"He has the speed, and he has the talent," he adds. "He has shown it many times, especially in wet conditions. I remember Lance's pole position in Turkey and some of his other excellent performances in the wet. To perform at that level in difficult conditions you have to have a special feeling with the car."
Coming from the man who really should have more than two titles to his name that is high praise, but what of the Spaniard's own hopes.
"I've been training since December," he says. "This pre-season has been a lot smoother than the last couple of years. I had the bike accident in 2021 and the following winter some of the plates that were used to reconstruct my jaw needed to be removed. Finally, this winter, I could focus as much time as I wanted on training. I'm in better shape than the last few seasons.
"I'm not thinking about timeframes and how long it will take the team to win races," he insists. "I will take it race by race, season by season. What's important is that we keep making progress.
"We need to feel happy with each other and help each other. Aston Martin helping me to achieve the results and the targets that I have and me helping the team to progress every race, every year, to get closer and closer to the top positions.
"I will use all my experience and all my knowledge to help the team shortcut the time that is needed to become World Champions.
"Will I be behind the steering wheel when that time comes? Nobody knows. It's impossible to predict. But what is certain is that I will try my best."
Asked what he believes the team needs to do win the championship, he replies: "We have to use our ingenuity and be creative in everything we do. You have to reinvent yourself every season, every race, to try to outperform your competitors, this is the biggest challenge for any F1 team.
"It starts with an idea. But when will it be possible? What do you need to do to make it possible? This is what you have to keep asking yourself. This is what you have to keep working towards.
"We have the talent in this team. When we go racing, we need to execute every race to perfection - to maximise the results from the ingenuity that has gone into the car."
Though he carries much baggage, and has a knack of leaving teams at precisely the wrong time, few would dispute that Alonso is one of the hardest racers to grace the sport, while some believe him to be one of the very best on the current grid.
"Every season we keep changing opinion," says the Spaniard. "We thought for many years that Michael Schumacher was unbeatable and had maybe reached a level that no one had in the history of Formula One. But, throughout the history of the sport, we've seen different drivers dominating, it's impossible to compare them.
"What I do know is that I always try to give my maximum. I'm never demotivated. It doesn't matter whether I'm fighting for fifth or 15th, for me, it's like fighting for the win because I have to make sure that I give 100 per cent on every lap of every race.
"Whatever you do in life, you have to have this competitiveness inside you, you have to have this hunger to be the best. I've had this hunger since I was a kid. I'm always trying to beat everyone at anything I do.
"Whether it's a race, a tennis match, a card game, or whatever, it's about winning. It's about taking advantage of your strengths and using your opponent's weaknesses against them. If I can't beat them with Plan A, I go to Plan B. If Plan B doesn't work, I go to Plan C. I have to always beat whoever is in front of me.
"There are drivers who are in incredible form right now and I respect all of them. Every driver on the grid is very talented, but I'm also in that group and everyone in that group has different strengths and weaknesses. It's how you use those strengths and weaknesses that sets you apart.
"Michael didn't have bad days," he adds, referring to the seven-time champion. "Michael never underperformed. That's what impressed me most when I got to Formula One and especially when I fought with him for the championship.
"Previously, in all my career and different categories, my rivals had some bad days and those were the days when you would capitalise, you would score many more points than them. With Michael, that didn't happen. He and Ferrari were unbeatable most of the time, but even when they didn't have the car, the tyres, or whatever working in the right window, Michael still finished second or third.
"Even after a bad free practice or a bad qualifying, you would still find Michael on the podium on Sunday. He had this tenacity, this willingness to exploit any opportunity - to minimise the damage on the bad days and maximise the good days. His determination was outstanding.
"This is a very special opportunity for me with this team at this moment in my career," he concludes. "I've been preparing physically and mentally for this challenge, and I see this project as a winning one.
"It's a matter of time until Aston Martin is winning races and championships. Making that time as short as possible, this is my biggest challenge... but I'm ready for it."