Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack says Fernando Alonso's claim at Zandvoort that the team will soon pull off a win was the perfect "motivational speech" for its crews.
Last weekend in the Netherlands, Alonso returned Team Silverstone to the podium after a spell of four races where it failed to finish higher than fifth.
The result prompted Alonso to tell his race engineer on his in-lap that "we will win one race soon, we are getting closer".
"Every time I open the radio, I think that I talk with my engineer, and I keep forgetting that I talk to everyone in the world, and I would like that those comments are private," Alonso said in Monza ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
"But that was my feeling, and in the remaining races hopefully we can be in that position to fight again and have a chance to be side-by-side I guess with Max, and at that point maybe take some extra risk."
Whether Aston and Alonso will be able to fulfil the Spaniard's crystal gazing, only time will tell. But Krack reckons that the two-time world champion's words will have had a positive impact on the team's spirits.
"It's motivational, and it's nice to hear for the team and it's also important for everybody at home listening to this," he said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"It's basically the best moment to do a motivational speech. And that was very nice to hear for everybody, and that means also smiling faces when you come back home.
©AstonMartin
"But there is a difference in saying it and doing it. So we really have to work hard to close that gap and make it happen."
Asked if Aston really has a realistic chance of defeating its dominant Red Bull rival on merit in the back half of the 2023 season, Krack said: "They're very good. I think this is the first thing we have to acknowledge. The combination between Max and that car, they are outstanding.
"I think also Fernando alluded to that, that it is maybe not even recognised enough. The level is very high and I'm not saying that he has to be in trouble to do it.
"We have to see how they will develop over the next races.
"If this happens, you have to be in the position to pick it up, and there have now been four, five, six races where we would not have been in that position.
"So I think that's why we need to stay humble and do our best and see what happens."
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