In Total Contrast to His Anti-Hero Image, Fernando Alonso’s Teamwork With Lance Stroll Decoded Showcasing the Spaniard’s Maturity

Fernando Alonso has always been known to be a hard person to work with. After his return to F1 in 2021, his then-teammate at Alpine, Esteban Ocon, termed their relationship as “a fantastic collaboration”. But Alonso’s stint at Alpine and his relationship with Ocon were turbulent ones.

2021 was the year when the Alpine teammates looked like a stable pairing to bring home points. At the 2021 Hungarian GP, Alonso fearlessly defended against Hamilton, which played an important part in getting Ocon his first F1 victory. But the relationship took a hit in the 2022 season when Alonso “nearly got killed in Jeddah…in Budapest” by Ocon. In comparison to his turbulent season at Alpine, the Spaniard has enjoyed a smooth ride at Aston Martin.

The blossoming camaraderie of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll

Alonso’s budding relationship with Lance Stroll is the talk of the town. The 2-time champion has nothing but respect for his teammate and a sense of responsibility towards Aston Martin. This was showcased at the Spanish GP.

In the closing stages of the race, Alonso was within striking distance of Stroll, at P6. But, instead of trying to fight him for P6, he decided to stay put at P7 and increase the gap to the drivers behind him. He showed maturity when he said “Tell Lance not to worry” in a radio message during the race.

In the post-race interview, Alonso said, “I damaged one floor [in qualifying] already, I didn’t want to damage another one today and I didn’t want him to damage his floor either by defending! For us it was the same, sixth and seventh, seventh and sixth, same points, so we just… Bringing the car home felt like the right choice.“

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Stroll seconded this as he said, “No, we were fighting for sixth and seventh, and I think we wanted to just bring it home at that point.” Both drivers seem to have a long-term vision and the team’s progress as a priority. This will be much-needed as Mercedes has joined the fight for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Aston Martin v/s Mercedes–The battle for P2 heats up

The Spanish GP was the first race where Aston Martin did not get a podium. It was Mercedes that found pace again and finished 2-3 at the chequered flag. Lewis Hamilton drove heroically to clinch P2 and George Russell fought his way through to P3, after starting P12. This helped them overtake Aston Martin in the Constructors’ championship. Mercedes now sits P2, with Aston Martin 18 points behind.

To reconquer, Aston Martin will have to stay consistent and ensure more podium finishes. Despite a relatively disappointing performance, Alonso was very confident about going back to the podium. He said, “It will not happen again. This is the last race without a podium!” 

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