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Fernando Alonso

Alonso responds to 'inspiration' Newey after 'arch enemy' comment

Fernando Alonso believes Adrian Newey can help turn Aston Martin into the F1 "team of the future", calling the 65-year-old an "inspiration" after he made others "raise the bar" in order to compete.

Alonso Zandvoort
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Fernando Alonso has said witnessing Adrian Newey's success in F1 was an "inspiration" as a rival to the new Aston Martin managing technical partner.

The 65-year-old will join the Silverstone squad in early 2025 upon leaving Red Bull, and the Spanish driver believes he can help transform the outfit into the "team of the future" in F1.

Alonso spoke glowingly of Newey when the British designer was officially confirmed, saying the rest of the series had to "raise the bar" in order to remain competitive with him.

The two F1 greats have fought against each other for over two decades, with Newey pointing out that Alonso was an "arch enemy" at times.

The Aston Martin driver beat Newey's McLaren to both F1 titles in 2005 when he was still with Renault, but the latter enjoyed the upper hand over the former during the early 2010s, when they were at Ferrari and Red Bull, respectively.

"[We've] been racing against each other for many years," Alonso said. "I would say that it was more an inspiration.

"Thanks to Adrian and his talent and cars, I think we all got better, as a driver, as engineers, teams - we all had to raise the bar, thanks to him, to be able to compete.

"It's an incredible day for the team, Lawrence's [Stroll] vision is taking shape with this building, with Adrian, with Honda... new wind tunnel, so definitely the team of the future, I would say.

"For me, is going to be an incredible opportunity, professionally, to work with Adrian and to keep wearing this green colour, which I'm very proud to be part of."

Not only does Alonso believe Newey arriving at Aston Martin provides professional benefits, like the chance to win a third F1 drivers' title, almost two decades after his second, he also qas quick to highlight the personal advantages of the move.

"Also it's, on a personal side, an incredible opportunity to work with these people. You can learn so much from them," the 43-year-old added.

"I was talking with Lance [Stroll] a few weeks ago, [about] the incredible opportunity we have to witness and to work with Lawrence, and with everyone in Aston Martin.

"Definitely, we are learning a lot of things on track, off track, as well - and it's part of our growth, personally as well."

Do you think Adrian Newey will be able to turn Aston Martin into F1 champions? Let us know by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365.

Also interesting:

In the latest episode of the RacingNews365 podcast, Ian, Sam and Nick look ahead to this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Red Bull's serious issues are discussed, as is Ferrari's chances in the title fight and Adrian Newey's move to Aston Martin.

Rather watch the podcast? Then CLICK HERE!

Join the conversation!

  1. https://cdn.racingnews365.com/Avatars/small/default.png

    Patrick Chapman

    I am surprised that approximately 1/3 of the readers here think that Newey can't make the difference to Aston Martin given his track record. Who do they think that Adrian is up against that will stop him from making a winning difference. I think that with the upcoming rule changes Aston Martin will be right up there with the best thanks to Adrian Neweys input. Add to that the newest latest wind tunnel equipment, they will be difficult to beat. I hope that Adrian can find the new talent to train as he only has a short time left at the top of his game.

    • https://cdn.racingnews365.com/Avatars/small/avatars_helmets/avatars_helmets_2024_sp.png

      BeniHana

      Just to point out, for all his incredible success which cannot be taken away, Mercedes had 7 years of success in a row while Newey struggled to get Red Bull back to what they did have. While he is super talented, one man does not maketh a team. You need everyone to raise their game at Aston, something they have not done since the end of last year. Add to that a Lance that is doing good, but not great and it is with some scepticism that I don't see Aston struggling for a while longer even with Adrian on board.

      This comment has been edited on:

      • https://cdn.racingnews365.com/Avatars/small/default.png

        Patrick Chapman

        How soon we forget or did you even know? Mercedes were working for 2 years in advance on their V6 turbo engine. It was announced to the teams that going forward a 1.6 V4 would be the accepted configuration for the future. Mercedes informed the FIA that if a V4 was to be the configuration then Mercedes would pull out of F1. So the FIA who didn't want that to happen changed the rule to read V6. Mercedes had been working on their V6 for 2 years before the V4 announcement was made so they couldn't just change overnight. If the FIA had stuck to their guns and insisted on a V4 configuration then the Mercedes 7 years that you refer to would not have happened. So instead of shoving your infinite knowledge down my throat in a seemingly polite way, you should do your homework before sprouting facts that are actually fiction. And yes, Newey is that good IMO. And when it comes to Formula 1 matters you would do well to look up my name.

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