Alonso 'surprised' by Stroll after late-season turnaround

Fernando Alonso has admitted his surprise at Lance Stroll's determination to turn around his flagging Formula 1 fortunes in 2023.

In the mid-part of the season, Stroll's form fell away, scoring just 12 points in the 10 races between Canada and the United States, before scoring a seventh-place in Austin.

This brought about a late-season surge, including back-to-back fifth places in Brazil and Las Vegas as he rallied to take 10th in the standings.

Stroll was injured for the opening races of the season, with broken wrists sustained in a pre-season cycling accident, with his dip in-form coinciding with the AMR23 also losing competitiveness, with Alonso praising the Canadian for his mental toughness.

Alonso 'surprised' by Stroll

"It has been very good, and I think we have a unique relationship of any team that I was in and in the paddock," Alonso explained to media including RacingNews365.

"We talk a lot, we are in contact every week on the telephone, at the factory, at the races and we try to make sure that we are all in the same direction.

"We share many things that he's been through, some difficulties this year as the car was changing behaviour and he was just struggling a little bit more than me.

"We then fixed a few things on the car, and he's back to top form, and it was impressive to see his dedication and motivation in the highs and lows, such as in the beginning of the year with a broken hand.

"He was so determined to put things back in place again and eventually he did after Mexico, in Brazil and Las Vegas.

"This was a surprise to me to be honest, the level of commitment and the level of motivation that he has, so it is only good news and good things for the team."