Has Lawrence Stroll’s $220 MN “Gamechanger” Already Sealed Fernando Alonso’s Spot at the Top in 2024?

Ever since Lawrence Stroll bought Racing Point at the back end of the 2018 season to make his way into the sport, he was considered just another billionaire investing his money in a lucrative business. Many also believed his decision was motivated by the desire to support his son Lance’s career in the sport. However, the Canadian billionaire has slowly but surely changed this perspective of him in the opinionated world of F1. Lawrence Stroll is a shrewd operator and in the past few years, he has showcased that he means business. This is exactly why a driver as ambitious as Fernando Alonso, toward the end of his almost two-decade-long career, decided to join Aston Martin.

The vision and ambitions Stroll has for the team and the steps he’s taking to actualize those goals will surely pay dividends. This vision is what convinced Alonso, who is slowly heading toward the end of his career, to join the Silverstone-based outfit. Stroll isn’t justifying his vision as well as he has made another massive investment of $220 million. Will this game-changing investment seal Alonso’s spot at the top of the grid in 2024? In this piece, we will share our perspective on the matter, which is separate from general perception and opinion.

Will Lawrence Stroll’s $220 million investment propel Fernando Alonso to the top of the F1 grid in 2024?

Lawrence Stroll started showcasing his intent when he decided to revamp the old factory, which had changed little and was still under the Jordan guise. Stroll’s idea was if they wanted to become a championship-winning F1 team, they needed the facility and personnel for it. The British team poached important personnel to give them the initial boost, results of which we already saw in the 2023 season. To complement the talented individuals, Stroll pooled in $220 million and invested it all in the new factory.

Work commenced on the 400,000 square feet of floor space, which will be a one-stop shop for all of the team’s needs. The new facility will have space to house the team’s design, manufacturing, and marketing resources and, most importantly team’s first-ever wind tunnel and a state-of-the-art simulator.

This facility is already proving its worth and even team principal Mike Krack admitted that. “We’re already benefiting,” he said, as quoted by Motorsport Nextgen. “We saw this when we worked between the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix to rework parts and make changes to the car before Spa. You could see physically that it helped us work faster and be more efficient.” 

Read More: Aston Martin Already ‘Reaping Benefits’ From Lawrence Stroll’s $220,000,000 Masterstroke as Charge to Supremacy Intensifies

However, despite all the positive influence this new facility has on the team, its true potential is yet to be unlocked. Aston Martin’s ambassador Pedro de la Rosa revealed that.

Fernando Alonso’s ally revealed the best is yet to come from Aston Martin

The British team shocked the entire team with the leap they took at the start of the 2023 season after finishing 7th in the Constructors’ Championship in the previous year. The AMR23 was rapid and Alonso proved that with his multiple podium finishes in the first half of the season. However, the team fell off the track and fell down the pecking order with the developmental path they chose in mid-season.

Although keeping all ego aside, the people back at Silverstone admitted and rectified their error to finish the season on a high. Despite all the downs in the season, we can all admit a narrowly missing out on P4 in the championship is a positive result.

However, the best is yet to come and Pedro de la Rosa revealed that in an interview earlier in the year. He revealed even though the team has shifted operations to the new factory, the wind tunnel had no part to play in the 2023 challenger. It will, however, have a significant role to play in the 2024 car along with Dan Fallows, the Adrian Newey understudy they poached from Red Bull.

He said, “It is, it’s extraordinary! Those 400 meters will be linear and you could go walking from one side to the other… But also I think that what is most extraordinary is Tom, is the fact that we are achieving all these results without using the new facility. This is something that people really don’t know. They think that Aston Martin’s performance is related to the new tools that the team has, but actually, those tools are still yet to be used. So that is encouraging.”

Keeping this revelation in mind, one can assume the team will be fighting in the top three, at least, from the start of the season. So to answer the question, we firmly believe the $220 million game-changing gamble made by Lawrence Stroll will surely book a spot at the top for Fernando Alonso. We also believe Alonso’s 33rd race win of his career will also come in the coming season if Aston Martin continues on the path they embarked on toward the end of the season.

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If Aston Martin makes significant upgrades and takes a huge leap, along with other teams on the grid, we might just have a five-way battle for race wins throughout the 2024 season. If that doesn’t excite you, we don’t know what will!