“Not Big Brother Little Brother”: Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll’s Mature Fraternity Given a Crucial Role for Aston Martin’s Goals

Unlike his turbulent relationships in the past with his other teammates, Fernando Alonso instantly hit it off with Lance Stroll. The Spaniard was so much in awe of the Canadian driver that he dubbed him a future world champion. The warmth in the friendship has only furthered since then and we saw a glimpse of it during the Azerbaijan GP. Now, team boss Mike Krack has revealed how the duo operates and how much their gelling together is important for Aston Martin.

The Azerbaijan GP had only progressed to the 5th lap when Alonso got into striking distance of Lewis Hamilton. However, the clever Mercedes driver kept himself within the DRS range of Carlos Sainz ahead to get extra pace to keep Fernando at bay. All this while, Lance was within striking distance of his teammate himself but refused to attack him. Later, the Asturian returned the favor by sharing his brake balance position, which was working well for him. He asked his race engineer to share the information with Lance.

Mike Krack hails the camaraderie shared by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll

Fernando’s kind gesture towards his young teammate won lots of hearts on the internet. At the same time, many wondered how and when this change happened. The reason was his past with the likes of Hamilton and recently with Esteban Ocon. The former Alpine driver, however, maintained that he has always been a helpful partner to his teammates.

Sharing his thoughts on Fernando and Lance’s budding bromance while speaking with Speedcafe, Krack told, “Lance is not a little brother. For me, they are both equal.”

“There are many times when Fernando looks at what Lance is doing and vice versa, so I think they are proper team-mates,” he added. “So not big brother little brother. You can say older brother and younger brother.”

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Nonetheless, Fernando’s role in the team is certainly that of a leader. That is, at least till he hangs up his race helmet and passes the baton to Lance.

Lance working as an understudy of Alonso

Despite failing to perform well last year, Aston Martin struck gold when they signed Fernando as Sebastian Vettel’s replacement. Moreover, ever since his arrival, he has played nothing but the team game. From helping with the car’s development to grooming Lance to become the senior driver in the future, the 2-time champion has kept himself busy. What’s heartening to see is that he’s enjoying the role.

“I know that I will be in the sport for a few more years – not many – and he will lead the team for the next 10 or 15 years, so I hope I can help Lance as much as I can in the next few years,” the Spaniard told.

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The recently concluded Azerbaijan GP saw Alonso’s podium streak break after Ferrari’s resurgence. Do you think he’ll climb back into the top 3 positions in Miami this Sunday?