Fernando Alonso completed the first half of the Abu Dhabi test day, testing the Aston Martin car for the first time. The Spanish driver completed 97 laps, showed the third fastest time, handed the car over to teammate Lance Stroll and shared his first impressions with the press.
Fernando Alonso «I don’t want to appear too sure of myself, because next year everything will change. However, the feeling I got from communicating with the guys in the pits, from the potential of the team, from the talents I met in the engine room, is just amazing. Right now I’m very, very happy.
When I signed with Aston Martin, I was 90% happy. When the team started to improve and finished the season higher, I became 100% happy and now I’m more than 100% happy.
I was pleasantly surprised by many things, but the current car bears little resemblance to what we will have next season. I mean that the new car will not be a continuation of the current one.
The team had a great weekend in Abu Dhabi: Sebastian Vettel qualified before me, so I don’t think there was much difference between Aston Martin and Alpine last weekend. It looks like a very competitive car.
The behavior of the car on the track didn’t surprise me. I was concerned about the steering: In my first year at Alpine, we spent nearly five months working on making me comfortable with the steering feedback. I alerted the team to this a few weeks ago, so when I got behind the wheel and realized I was happy with the Aston Martin’s steering, I was pleasantly surprised. We don’t have to change anything.”
