Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows has been impressed by the level of motivation and drive displayed by Fernando Alonso, and by the "huge energy" the Spaniard has brought to the team.
While Fallows and his fellow engineers should be credited for the design of Aston's remarkable 2023 car that has enabled Team Silverstone to take a considerable step forward this season, Alonso is the car's perfect compliment.
But the 41-year-old veteran has also instilled since his arrival at the team at the end of last year a fresh impulse that is spurring on the troops.
©AstonMartin
"He's clearly a very impressive chap," Fallows after Alonso's P5 perfromance in qualifying.
"He’s incredibly motivated, incredibly competitive and he's brought a huge amount of energy to the team.
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"I think he has been very impressive from the moment he got in the car last year. His feedback is where you'd expect it to be for somebody with his level of experience.
"But he has the ability to diagnose issues with the car in a way that, as an engineering team, we're very, very pleased with."
©AstonMartin
Alonso's presence at Aston has inevitably led to comparisons with his predecessor, Sebastian Vettel. But Fallows underscored one key difference between the two F1 greats.
"They are different people, for certain, for sure," said the British engineer. "But I think Fernando has still got a huge amount of energy, he is still very, very keen to go racing.
"He keeps saying that he'll just carry on as long as he can possibly go. And that's very infectious.
"It's been great for the team for him to come around and say hello to people. We have various Spanish members of the team as well who are incredibly excited that he's arrived.
"So yeah, it's been great having [him] on board so far."
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