Fernando Alonso is excited by Adrian Newey’s arrival at Aston Martin and the promising future it entails, but admits that he may not be around long enough in F1 to reap the full benefits of the design legend's expertise.
Alonso, who has long wanted to collaborate with Newey, was involved in persuading the 65-year-old to make the move from Red Bull to Aston Martin, a deal that will kick off in earnest in March of next year.
The Spaniard is contracted to drive for Aston Martin until the end of 2026, which leaves the 43-year-old with two complete seasons racing under Newey’s watch.
For Alonso, that timeline raises doubts over whether he will still be competing at the top level by the time Newey's influence bears fruit.
"It has been a positive week for the team with the announcement and he's a great addition to the team," Alonso said. "For me, what I think is that the Aston Martin team is the team of the future, in a way.
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"We have quite good things coming in the next few months in the team. Step by step, we have all to have that first race win and hopefully fighting for championships in the future.
"I'm aware that this takes time and I don't have that time, in a way. But I'm relaxed and I'm enjoying the journey."
©AstonMartin
Alonso revealed that he did his part to convince Newey to join Aston Martin, at a time when it was believed that Ferrari would be the designer’s next port of call.
"I texted him, for sure, like everybody did probably, that wanted to work with him," he explained.
"I saw him also at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and we spent half an hour chatting as well.
"We all tried to persuade him and I think ultimately Lawrence and his vision, the new factory and what Aston Martin wants for the future, together with Honda as well, were probably key factors listening to what Adrian said."
Regarding his F1 future, Alonso hinted at the possibility of retiring from Formula 1 after the 2026 season. If that happens, he plans to transition into an ambassadorial role within the team, or perhaps remain active in a another series.
"I will be driving in 2026. After 2026 I will be driving...or in Formula 1 or in other series,” he said.
"If I'm not driving in Formula 1, I will be in the Aston Martin team, somehow. So I will enjoy that bright future, hopefully."
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack underscored the mutual respect between Alonso and Newey, jokingly mentioning that Alonso was so keen on the collaboration that he offered to pay part of Newey's salary!
"It is clear Fernando has a long future in this team and he was all excited about it,” Krack said.
“On Tuesday he was even saying that he will pay some of his wages to pay Adrian!
"But you can really see the huge respect that these two people have for each other and I think they want to achieve something.
"For Adrian, he wanted always to work with someone like Fernando, and vice versa."
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