During his 20 years in Formula One Fernando Alonso has been making waves wherever he goes and became the youngest F1 world champion in 2005 with works team Renault.

As a back to back double world champion Alonso joined McLaren in 2007 to partner rookie Lewis Hamilton. The relationship quickly soured and the infighting between the pair saw Kimi Raikkonen steal the drivers’ title form them both by just one point. 

Fernando Alonso pedigree

Alonso spent 5 frustrating seasons with Ferrari (2010-14) and came a close second on three occasions in the drivers’ championship.

Following the meltdown of relationships with McLaren and Honda, Fernando left the sport for two seasons and won Le Mans 24 hours and competed in the Indy500.

Fernando is the only driver alive missing 1 leg of the famous motorsports modern triple crown which consists of an F1 title, Le Mans win and a victory at the famous brickyard circuit which hosts the Indy500.

Project ‘make Aston Martin great in F1

At 41 years of age he is about to embark on the project to bring Aston Martin to the front of the grid, something Vettel thought he could do but ultimately failed.

As someone who speaks his mind, Alonso is respected by engineers across the paddock for the straightforward and honest feedback he delivers. 

Whether this is pleasant to hear or not is irrelevant to Alonso. His only goal is to win races and hopefully titles and his motivation is never in question.

Despite a fairly nasty coming together with the future team mate Lance Stroll during the 2022 US grand prix, Alonso reveals to PlanetF1 the nature of their relationship.

Surprising statement from Alonso

“I’ve known Lance for 11 years. And I’ve known his father, Lawrence, for many years. He’s a great friend of mine. I’ve been to his house in Canada a few times, doing different sports and enjoying time together.”

Fernando then makes something of a surprising claim: “In Lance, the team has a driver who is super young, super talented and has the possibility to be world champion. 

“To see him achieve that and have played a part in that, whether that’s behind the wheel or not, will be special for me,” adds Alonso.

Aston Martin’s double world champion recalls some of Lance Stroll’s better racing moments.

Can Aston Martin hit the from of the F1 grid?

“He has the speed, and he has the talent. He has shown it many times, especially in wet conditions. I remember Lance’s pole position in Turkey and some of his other excellent performances in the wet; to perform at that level in difficult conditions you have to have a special feeling with the car.”

Given his employer is Lance’s father and billionaire team owner, Fernando is hardly likely to attempt to get Lance the sack. Further, if the gap between Lance and Alonso is similar to the one Stroll had with Vettel, Fernando makes himself irreplaceable if he already isn’t.

It’s a big shout calling the billionaire son of a billionaire F1 team owner a ‘potential F1 world champion’ though Alonso’s words are carefully crafted around the word “possibly” and that may include the scenario where Aston Martin build an all conquering F1 car.

READ MORE: Watch the first new 2023 f1 car on track

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