FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem opines Fernando Alonso-led Aston Martin 'ready' to thrive in F1

FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem reckons Aston Martin are ready to win with new signing Fernando Alonso.

The team has been doing an admirable job in terms of recruiting new talent and luring them away from the big teams. Taht hasn't translated to results thus far, but the approach helped Aston Martin sign up Alonso ahead of the 2023 F1 season.

The Spaniard said that he's impressed with the kind of talent who have signed with Aston Martin in recent years.

Ben Sulayem appears to feel the same way about the team. In an interview with the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com, the FIA president said that Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso could be a winning combination. He said:

"They should be able to do it; they are investing for it; they are on the way, and they have a driver ready like Fernando (Alonso). I think so, but winning is very complicated. It's the same with Ferrari, no they win, but it's not because they're slow, management or reliability, or both are also important."

He added:

"I think that Aston Martin, with (Lawrence, owner) Stroll, they are trying things by signing a new driver and new personnel, new discipline, which is also very important."

Ben Sulayem has always been very concerned about equality and having teams that can achieve good results. That was one of the cornerstones of the introduction of cost cap. When asked if the sport is moving towards a more equitable future, the FIA president said:

"I think so, the challenges that I see and that the drivers themselves see is one thing, but then the challenges with the teams are different. It's not easy to create a balance of performance, and what I can say is working and what we're working on the most is the budget ceiling."

He added:

"I have been very clear with what happened with Red Bull. We were very transparent throughout the process; we were clear in a public way. I hope that nobody uses the cost cap to hide things because they know that we are watching them, that is one of the tasks that we have; the difference is big (for) now, But we have to keep working and make sure the small teams get closer to the big ones."

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Can Fernando Alonso-Aston Martin partnership be successful?

It's a very interesting debate over whether the Fernando Alonso-Aston Martin could be successful. Aston Martin finished seventh in the championship last season, while Fernando Alonso moved from Alpine, the fourth-fastest team on the grid.

For Aston Martin, immediate success is unlikely to be a title win in 2023, as that seems unlikely. However, the team should target being the midfield leader in 2023 and build from there. Is that a possibility? It surely is, and the team certainly has the potential to make that happen.