"He knows more or less what’s going on in every team"- Fernando Alonso needed no convincing to join Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso has an excellent network in the F1 paddock and knows what all teams are up to, according to Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack. He also admitted that the Spaniard did not need much convincing to make the move from Alpine for the 2023 season.

Alonso is on the cusp of an eighth-team switch in his F1 career after inking a multi-year deal with Aston Martin one day into the summer break. The announcement caught Alpine off-guard, who were assured that the Spaniard was acting in good faith and not negotiating for a new deal behind their backs.

Krack has since elaborated on the inner workings behind bringing the two-time world champion to Silverstone from Enstone. In an interview with Sky Sports F1 in the build-up to the 2022 F1 Dutch GP, he said:

“I think there was not so much convincing work necessary [with Fernando]. I think Fernando has a very big network in Formula 1. He knows more or less what’s going on in every team. I think he sees a [clear] role in our project, with the people we’re hiring with our infrastructure, but also not to forget the amount of people, good people that we already had on board. So, from that point of view, there was no convincing work.”

Meanwhile, Alpine have lost two drivers in Alonso and Oscar Piastri in the space of a month. The latter has been given the green light to join McLaren for next year after his deal with the Anglo-French time lapsed.

---

Fernando Alonso's move from Alpine shocked Aston Martin F1 aerodynamicist

Fernando Alonso's impending move from Alpine to Aston Martin in 2023 was so shocking that it admittedly caught the Silverstone team's aerodynamicist Raul Martin off guard.

In an interview with cadenaser.com in Spain, Alonso's compatriot Raul Martin revealed to former F1 driver Pedro De la Rosa that the two-time world champion was not even in the team's internal betting pool to replace the departing Sebastian Vettel. He said:

“They sent us an email in the morning, shortly before it appeared in the media. I am on vacation right now, but as if I had been in the office. Internally, there was talk of [Mick] Schumacher or [Nicholas] Latifi, I didn’t think Alonso would come. I thought he would stay at Alpine, it’s shocking and hard to believe, but it’s the reality.’’

Martin is thrilled the veteran Spaniard will be joining Aston Martin in 2023, expecting his move to raise the team's profile even further and attract more to quality talent. He said:

“As an engineer, you go to the best project, not the one that pays you the best. His arrival means attracting more talent to an ambitious project. I won the Fernando Alonso Scholarship to be able to enter the world of Formula 1 and now I’m going to work with him.’’

Fernando Alonso's new deal is a multi-year contract with a considerable bump in his salary. However, Alpine are confident they can beat the 41-year-old in the coming seasons.