Stroll: Alonso's 'pushy' nature will boost Aston Martin

Lance Stroll believes that Aston Martin will benefit from the notoriously 'pushy' nature of his new team mate Fernando Alonso this season.

Alonso arrives at the team from Alpine, replacing another former multiple F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel who decided to retire from the sport at the end of 2022.

Alonso is a notoriously ferocious racer. Despite being the oldest driver on the grid by some margin, he's also arguably the most fiercely competitive and demanding of his team.

• Watch: Alonso's first day at the office with Aston Martin

The word 'ruthless' is often heard in description of Alonso's approach to motor racing, and he's talked in the past about setting out to destroy team mates. But far from being intimidated, Stroll is happy to meet the challenge.

"It's no fun when you're just kind of driving around with no one pushing you," he said last month, as reported by Motorsport.com.

"What you want in a teammate is a guy that is at the top of his game," he continued. "It means that when you get more out of it than him you're really at the top of your game, and vice versa.

"When you're not getting the most out of it, it's not that you can just sit back and relax," he added. "You've got to try and work harder.

"That's what you want from the team at the end of the day," he continued. "And also for them to know if you guys are pushing each other and always getting everything out of the car and the package."

Alonso drove for the team for the first time in last year's post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit, but is yet to get to know his new team mate on a personal level.

"We've spent some time together, just chatting and stuff on drivers parades and all that," said Stroll. "He's a nice guy and he's a great driver, a big talent.

"It's always interesting and exciting when someone like him - or like Seb - comes to the team and has different ideas, or drives in a different way, and maybe wants different things in the car.

"It's always interesting to hear what guys with that kind of experience have to say.," he explained. "In that sense, I'm definitely looking forward to having him in the team and working with him."

Looking back over the last two years with Vettel as a team mate, Stroll said that it had been a "fun" experience that had taught him a great deal.

"He really pushed me to understand different things, like how to approach the weekend, how to adapt my work ethic, and be a better racing driver.

"He definitely also just helped push the team forward and bring some ideas from his past experience at other top teams, like Ferrari and Red Bull.

"I think that that was huge," he said. "He's just been just a cool guy outside of the car, and super nice, and that makes the seasons more pleasant."

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