Aston Martin boss confirms the AMR23 is ‘completely different’ owing to Fernando Alonso’s involvement

Fernando Alonso's arrival at Aston Martin has already brought about several changes.

Aston Martin boss confirms the AMR23 is ‘completely different’ owing to Fernando Alonso’s involvement

Fernando Alonso

Double Formula One World Champion, Fernando Alonso shocked the entire motorsport fraternity when he announced his move to Aston Martin. Sebastian Vettel’s retirement served as a catalyst for the move. Many in the paddock consider this switch to be a down grade. While Alpine have been consistently scoring points and even been in a position to challenge for podiums, Aston Martin have been scrapping in the lower mid-field.

Alonso simply ‘lost faith’ in the Alpine program after next to no progress despite the 2022 regulations change. His commitment to Aston Martin is likely due to their aggressive strategy of hiring big names from rival teams and their intent of succeeding, which is apparent from their $200 Million investment into a new factory.

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So far, the Spaniard’s move seems to be going according to plan. Aston Martin are remarkably optimistic about their 2023 challenger. “We took all our learnings from last year’s car and applied them to this year’s car. So much of the AMR23 is new, it’s completely different from the AMR22. We’ve changed more than 90 per cent of the parts and more than 95 per cent of the aerodynamic surfaces are different,”  deputy technical chief Eric Blandin said in an interview.

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Related: Toto Wolff reveals he ‘fell out of love’ with Formula One after Abu Dhabi debacle

‘Fernando’s input was significant’ AMR Technical Chief is confident about their progress

Fernando Alonso Via PlanetSport.com
Fernando Alonso Via PlanetSport.com

In a recent interview on Aston Martin’s website, Deputy Technical Chief, Eric Blandin expressed his praise for Alonso’s feedback. “Fernando’s feedback is extremely precise. He clearly communicated what he wants from the car and immediately identified a few things that we’ve been able to feed into the design of the AMR23,” Blandin said.

“Last season, Fernando drove a car that was quite different from ours – and more competitive. After driving the AMR22, he was quickly able to compare the two cars and say, ‘This is clearly better, this is clearly worse, and this is what we should focus on.'” he continued. Blandin also revealed his thoughts on the AMR23. “We’ve implemented a few clever innovations on the new car – they’re the icing on the cake. They’re a nice-to-have, but not a must-have. It’s great when you find a small loophole and can use it to your advantage, but it’s not often you can base an entire car around it.”

Clearly, the double World Champion’s influence is already working in Aston Martin’s favor. While transitioning into being immediately competitive after a few unsatisfactory seasons will be an arduous task, Aston Martin are poised to deliver. It will captivating to see if the work done over the winter translates to enhanced performance when the lights go out in Bahrain.

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