Leading By Example: Alonso's Impact On Aston Martin

Thursday, 25 January 2024 at 05:00

Aston Martin's team principal, Mike Krack, expressed his admiration for how Fernando Alonso has been working both on and off the track ever since joining Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso thought that 2018 season was the last one in his career when he was retiring. However, the double World Champion soon found out he was not yet ready to retire from the sport and returned in 2021.

The Spanish Matador joined Aston Martin right after the end of the season in 2022, and the team principal suggested his attitude was completely different from what he would expect from other drivers his age. He told Speedcafe:

"A lot of drivers go to smaller teams, and they try to take what they can through to the end of their career. This is not what we have seen with Fernando. Actually, it's completely the opposite."

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Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok stated after the end of the most recent season, Alonso showed the energy of a 22-year-old, and Mike Krack could not agree more.

"We had a driver where you would have thought it was his first season. He was full of energy, not only driving us on but also driving himself on."

Another former F1 driver (who is now part of the Aston Martin team as an ambassador), Pedro de la Rosa, suggested that Alonso's arrival and work attitude sparked very strong energy within the team. Krack continued:

"He really led by example, being the first in the office. You arrive in the morning, and he is sitting there. He would (jokingly) say, ‘Good afternoon, guys.'"

Alonso has amassed an immense amount of experience during his work with multiple teams over his 20-year-long F1 career. He knows how to work with his team and how to lead by example, which Krack believes made Aston Martin a much better team.