The two drivers have enjoyed a friendly relationship this year and during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Stroll told the team that he wouldn’t attack Alonso while running behind him, and the Spaniard later passed on brake balance information to help his team-mate.
Alonso made it clear that he’s helping Stroll because he believes that he represents the long-term future of the team.
“We talk a lot during the weekend already from Thursday,” said Alonso when asked by Autosport about his relationship with Stroll. “What we both felt here in the past, also in the strategy meeting, what we will do, what will be the plan for each of the cars and things like that.
“So if we feel something in the car during the race that we didn’t speak about, and there is something new that can help the other car, normally we communicate with the team.
“I know that I will be in the sport for a few more years, but 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.”
Asked if he had had that kind of relationship with a previous team-mate, he said: “Yeah, I had in the past, but only some of my radios were broadcast! But not this one. For whatever reason now F1 is kind to me.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Stroll said he was happy not to race Alonso in the early stages of the Baku main race.
“We were both thinking about the long-term, the race, and he had better pace,” he said. “I didn’t want to push him in that sense.
“I felt like it was smart for both of us to manage at the beginning of the race. And then he took off and had a really good pace on the hards, and I struggled with balance, and didn’t really get into a happy place.
“I made that mistake in [Turn] 16, when [Lewis] Hamilton got me, and then it felt like it was kind of just a bit tricky to the end of the race.”
Regarding Alonso’s brake balance message, he said: “I heard about that now! Yeah, he returned the favour! So, that was nice of him. I was told to think about brake balance and change a few things. So now I know it came from him.”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack praised his drivers for working together so effectively.
“It’s fantastic to see,” said Krack. “It shows the maturity of Lance and Fernando, the way they work together, the way they also act with each other.
“They have clearly understood that our opponents are not the green car relative,…
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