As in many other disciplines, Formula 1’s television department also tends to focus on what happens in front of the pack. In recent years, Fernando Alonso barely appeared on the screen, a circumstance that forced him to have to highlight everything he did, often using irony and even sarcasm. Since you saw the green of Aston Martin, that dynamic has changed and not only because the director on duty decides, but because that is how he has earned it if we take into account the statistics: after the first five stops on the calendar, the Asturian circulates in third place in the general table, with 27 points less than Checo Pérez and 33 less than Max Verstappen, the leader.
“To win in F1, Lawrence argues that it is necessary to have the most prepared people, implement the fair processes and have the right tools. We have the people, the processes, and soon, the tools as well.” This phrase is said by Pedro Martínez de la Rosa, who last September signed his contract as Aston Martin ambassador, just a month after Alonso’s arrival was announced. The former pilot has been infected with the vitality that has permeated the entire troop as a result of the landing of the man from Oviedo. “You should see them when Fernando does something; they go crazy”, he told EL PAÍS from Miami, where the two-time champion added his fourth podium out of five possible.
De la Rosa knows Alonso like few others. He was with him in his first stage at McLaren (2007) before following him at Ferrari (2010). Now they are under the same roof again. “I have found a Fernando with the same ambition and hunger that he had at McLaren or Ferrari. His inner strength is brutal, he takes great care of himself on a physical and nutritional level, and he has become a great motivator, ”says the Catalan, who is struck by the calm transmitted by someone who is aware of giving his last blows. . “What surprises me the most is the patience he has because, when a driver reaches the end of his career, it is normal for him to rush. In his case it is the other way around, ”he underlines.
When asked to explain the gigantic improvement of a prototype that, in just two months, has gone from being the seventh most competitive to the second, only behind Red Bull, De la Rosa buckles down to pragmatism: “In F1 we don’t there are miracles, and what Aston Martin has done this year is not. What we see now is the continuation of the work that was done last season, starting with the car that was introduced in Montmeló”.
At this point, the question asked by anyone who is interested in what can be classified as phenomena of this 2023 revolves around the future. And this goes through the new factory, which will cover an area of 37,000 square metres, into which more than 235 million euros have been injected and which should open this month of May, and the wind tunnel, which should be fully operational performance in mid-2024. “All the teams claim to race to win. But, in the end, there are very few who do everything necessary to achieve it. Ours is one of them, both due to investment and attitude”, insists the company’s ambassador, who does not consider it crazy to consider shorting Red Bull, even if it takes a while to do so. “We are talking about a five-year journey, that is the window we set ourselves to win,” De la Rosa stresses.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
