Former F1 driver and current Aston Martin ambassador Pedro De La Rosa credited much of the team's development progress to Lance Stroll.
Aston Martin which just extended collaboration with one of its key partners finished the 2022 season in the seventh place of the Constructors' Championship on equal points with Alfa Romeo, and just a few points ahead of Haas.
The position of the two above-mentioned teams in the 2023 Championship compared to Aston Martin very well illustrates the progress the team has made between the two seasons.
Alfa Romeo and Haas finished ninth and tenth in 2023, while Aston Martin scored fifth place and achieved eight podiums throughout the year.
Aston's brand ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa, suggested that feedback from drivers, mainly in season 2022, aided by Fernando Alonso's arrival ahead of 2023, contributed to the team's success.
“"I think the feedback from Lance and Sebastian was important and it was continued with the arrival of Fernando."”
Aston Martin has had one younger driver (Stroll) and one older, super-experienced driver (Vettel) ever since the beginning of the 2021 season.
The combo proved to work for the team, and when Vettel announced his retirement at the end of the 2022 season, the team found a great replacement, arguably the most experienced driver on the grid at the moment - Alonso.
While the two experienced drivers both played their roles in helping the team with the development direction, de la Rosa believes Stroll played an essential part in the development as he was the only one who was with the team throughout the whole process. The former F1 driver added:
“"But still I think Lance played a very important role because he was the only driver who stayed with the team. He contributed during the winter period and was the consistent link in the process. That also paid off in the simulator."”
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