Fernando Alonso, being realistic, will not be able to “fight for victories” this year
Fernando Alonso spent four hours in Aston Martin's simulator before the preparations for the team launch, which took place last Monday.
The double World Champion has been firmly embedded in the pre-season plans of his new team. Performance director McCullough revealed that the Spaniard has already spent hours in the team’s simulator before getting ready for the season launch event.
Fernando spent four hours in the simulator this morning. And it’s a bit his way of putting pressure on us. He is extremely motivated, pushing us all very hard, because he really wants to do well, just like us, he declared to the media.
Furthermore, the British director emphasizes the analysis work carried out by his team in order to be the most efficient from the start of the season: “We try to get to work when we do the tests, but it’s different when we do the race. Our typical end of the year is to review what you have done, what you have done well, what you could have done better.”
Alonso confident in Aston Martin’s project.
It is this motivation that leads Alonso to declare that, unlike some of his previous teams, this team is not satisfied with fourth place. This team is not satisfied with third. This team is not satisfied with second. And that’s what I feel from everyone here. There are no celebrations before winning, and that’s very motivating.
However, the Spaniard acknowledges that reaching the point of winning will take time, especially against the best teams on the grid: “I don’t think it will happen this year, and I’m honest about it. I have my feet on the ground and I can’t tell anyone that we will fight for victories this year because I would be lying. There are no miracles in Formula 1 from one season to another. Only a few months have passed since the last race in Abu Dhabi and there is a big gap with the top teams.”
On the other hand, in the medium to long term, the former Alpine driver is confident in his team’s chances of achieving good results: « But if we have a good base car this year, we will have more opportunities to fight for wins and podiums next season. I have confidence in this project ».
