Fernando Alonso’s age will not diminish his drive to success when he joins Aston Martin next season, says Pedro de la Rosa.
The double world champion will depart from Alpine at the end of 2022 and move to Silverstone to join Aston Martin. His friend and former colleague De la Rosa has recently also joined the team as a brand ambassador. The pair previously worked together at Jaguar, McLaren and Ferrari.
Asked by RaceFans how important their strong working history would be for their efforts to help bring Aston Martin to the front of the field, De la Rosa said that there will be many familiar faces for Alonso when he joins the team after the end of the season.
“I haven’t spoken with Fernando that much, since [joining Aston Martin],” said De la Rosa. “But I’m very excited, he knows that.
“To an extent, I think he’s also happy that I’m in the team. I think that if I’m here, it’s also because of him. There’s nothing better for a person, for an ex-driver like myself, than when you turn up [and] there are many people that have worked with you in the past. There’s nothing better than to feel that those people, that know you better than anyone, want you back.
“This is a feeling I’ve had here, but not because of Fernando – there’s many other guys I’ve worked with in the Formula 1 paddock in the past 15 years that are inside Aston Martin in every department. So it makes me extremely proud that Aston Martin has called me and that they want me in the team, mainly because I have worked with these guys, with these people, and Fernando is one of them of course.”
Alonso will join Aston Martin on a multi-year contract beginning in the 2023 F1 season, at the age of 41 – the same age De la Rosa was during his final season in F1 with HRT back in 2012. Despite Alonso joining a new team at an age that is rarely reached by active drivers, De la Rosa has no doubt he remains one of F1’s elite drivers.
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“I’ve always said there are possibly three drivers that are special in Formula 1,” he said. “I won’t say which names – I’m pretty sure you will know most of them, it’s not that difficult – but Fernando has always been there.
“I’ve always said that Fernando is one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1. When I said this a few years ago, everyone thought I was crazy – but I’m still crazy because I think…
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