Fernando Alonso has captured the spotlight on Aston Martin, contributing to the team's stellar start to the 2023 season. Alonso scored back-to-back podiums in the first two races of the season, placing the team second in the points table.
While Alonso made two trips to the podium, his teammate Lance Stroll finished sixth in the season opener and retired due to an engine issue in the following race.
According to Peter Windsor, team owner Lawrence Stroll might not be as joyous as Alonso. Windsor believes that Stroll Sr. won't be enjoying the Spaniard having the upper hand in the team. The former Williams and Ferrari team manager elaborated on his views on his YouTube channel as he said:
"At the end [of the race], with all the Aston Martin mechanics in green in front of the podium and Fernando being Mr Charm, Mr Charisma with the fluorescent green Aston Martin cap and smile and just looking a hundred million dollars, you had to think, ‘not sure Stroll Sr will be that happy about the way things are going at the moment’."
He then stated:
"This is Fernando almost becoming bigger than the team and [Stroll will be thinking] what’s happening with my son? Why’s he retired? What’s going on?"
Peter Windsor concluded by saying that he was probably exaggerating the situation.
Windsor then went on to explain the situation at Aston Martin, where the team owner's son occupies one seat while the two-time world champion takes the other. The driver pairing has a different dynamic compared to any team on the grid.
Windsor compared the situation to that of Red Bull as he added:
"This isn’t Red Bull, where Dietrich Mateschitz loved lots of different racing drivers and loved putting them together, seeing them compete and giving an opportunity to many young drivers. This is the father of one driver effectively buying a Formula 1 team for him and seeing now the Fernando Alonso phenomenon and he wants his son there."
While Fernando Alonso has been brilliant at Aston Martin, Stroll Sr. will be hoping to see his son outperform the two-time world champion.
Lawrence Stroll knew Fernando Alonso long before the latter's arrival at Aston Martin
Lawrence Stroll has revealed that his relationship with Fernando Alonso goes back to 2011.
Alonso was driving for Scuderia Ferrari at the time and Lance Stroll was a member of the team's junior driver program.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Stroll Sr. revealed at the Bahrain GP:
"I’ve known Fernando for a while, as has Lance. When Fernando was a driver in the Ferrari Formula 1 team, Lance was in the Ferrari Driver Academy – he was 12, so it was 12 years ago, so they’ve known each other that long."
The Canadian praised Fernando Alonso, calling him 'one of the greatest drivers'. He also shared that Alonso believes in the future of the Aston Martin project, citing the shared belief as the main reason for him to join the Silverstone team.