Why Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin makes sense

BUDAPEST, Hungary — It’s little wonder Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll acted so quickly to secure Fernando Alonso’s services for 2023.

By signing Alonso he has replaced one world champion, Sebastian Vettel, with another, just four days after the latter announced his plan to retire from Formula One at the end of this season. Alonso was far and away the best candidate available to Stroll — only Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen would have represented a more meaningful statement of intent.

It’s easy to forget looking at the championship order this season, or last, but Stroll has set wins and championships as the medium-term goal for Aston Martin. Away from the circuit he has invested heavily in state-of-the-art facilities at the team’s Silverstone base and has poached big-money talent from other teams, such as highly-rated Red Bull technical guru Dan Fallows. He’s done nothing by half measures.

Stroll has now managed to tempt two of the modern era’s best drivers to join his team in the space of 24 months, which gives a good indication of just how seriously people should take Aston Martin’s long-term ambitions.

This deal makes sense for all involved

Vettel’s retirement created a perfect scenario for all three parties. For Alonso, it makes him the face of one of the most ambitious teams on the grid. His immediate future with Alpine seemed uncertain as long as Formula Two champion Oscar Piastri was waiting in the wings. While Alonso’s talent would always command attention if another seat was available, it was also fair to wonder whether he would return from a second F1 sabbatical.

Now he might have found himself a place to stay on the grid for the foreseeable future. Patience will be key, but Alpine is only a few places up the competitive order compared to Aston Martin right now. The Renault factory outfit has consistently fallen shy of a place at the front of the grid since returning in 2016 and it is hard to feel optimistic it will get back there any time soon.

Alonso returned to F1 in 2021 to win a world championship one day and Aston Martin has just as good a chance of creating that opportunity for him as Alpine down the line. From a marketing standpoint it seems like a step forward for Alonso too — while Renault’s F1 team rebranded to the lesser known Alpine name, Alonso is now the star driver of one of the most…