"This was a surprise to me, to be honest" - Fernando Alonso shares one thing about Lance Stroll that surprised him

Fernando Alonso has stated Lance Stroll's ability to bounce back from the adversities to end the season strongly came as a big surprise for him. The Spaniard started life at his new team Aston Martin, with Stroll as his teammate. While Alonso kicked things off brilliantly, Stroll was unable to keep up most of the time.

As a result, pressure continued to mount on Stroll throughout the season as while Alonso had racked up six podiums in the first eight races, the Canadian had nothing. When Aston Martin suffered a slump in performance, Stroll was the worst affected as he could not even score points for the team.

However, Stroll did recover decently by the end of the season as he showed sparks of form in the last few races. Talking about his teammate, Alonso admitted that it was a surprise for him to see Stroll's dedication and motivation during the highs and lows of the season.

"We share many things that he's been through, some difficulties this year as the car was changing behavior and he was just struggling a little bit more than me. We then fixed a few things on the car, and he's back to top form, and it was impressive to see his dedication and motivation in the highs and lows, such as in the beginning of the year with a broken hand," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by RacingNews365.

"He was so determined to put things back in place again and eventually he did after Mexico, in Brazil, and Las Vegas. This was a surprise to me, to be honest, the level of commitment and the level of motivation that he has, so it is only good news and good things for the team," Alonso added.

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"We have a unique relationship" - Fernando Alonso on his relationship with Lance Stroll

Fernando Alonso touched on his relationship with Lance Stroll and said it was unique. The duo are in contact every week and try to make sure that the drivers and the team are all on the same boat.

"It has been very good, and I think we have a unique relationship of any team that I was in and in the paddock. We talk a lot, we are in contact every week on the telephone, at the factory, at the races and we try to make sure that we are all in the same direction," Alonso said.

After having a very competitive teammate in Esteban Ocon in Alpine, Alonso seems to have a great foil in Lance Stroll at Aston Martin.