Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says he was impressed by Fernando Alonso's first outing with the team last week in Abu Dhabi, and especially with the Spaniard's 'straight to the point' attitude.
Alonso kick started his preparations for 2023 at F1's post-season test day at Yas Marina where he got acquainted with his new crews and the Silverstone-based team's processes.
"It was very impressive," commented Krack. "Very impressed by the efficiency of transmitting the messages. It was straight to the point at all times.
"It was very friendly and open, transparent I think in both directions. So we are very pleased how this day went, really."
Krack noted the differences in how Alonso approaches his work compared to the Spaniard's predecessor, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, but he also identified similarities between the two drivers.
"Different, yes, because they have different backgrounds,” said Krack. "One is Latin, one is German. That makes a big difference.
"But I mean, what they have in common is the focus, the focus on improving, the focus on making progress. And also isolating what makes us progress instead of maybe just being detailed.
"So some similarities, but also some differences."
Krack closely monitored the races of his future driver in the back half of the season, and the Aston team boss was impressed with Alonso's unwavering drive behind the wheel, citing the frustrating body language displayed by the Spaniard after his retirement from P7 in the Mexican Grand Prix as proof of his competitive character.
"This is an example of dedication and motivation," Krack said. "If you have someone with this passion and drive to win, I think it has an impact on the team.
"We could clearly see that, how everybody was really happy to have this guy in the car last Tuesday. So I think he ignites maybe another spark from his own passion and desire to win, on to the team."
Over in Aston Martin's engineering department, technical director Dan Fallows is eager to see how the team can take advantage of the wealth of experience that Alonso has amassed over the years.
"I think we’re very open-minded about the direction we grow in," said Fallows. "I’ve come from a background with Red Bull, we have people who’ve come from Mercedes and some other teams. And obviously Fernando has got very varied experience as well.
"We’re not so arrogant as to believe that we have a kind of way of doing things that we’re going to rigidly stick to.
"So if he can bring in the experience to us, then absolutely we’ll take it on board."
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