Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has explained what "fascinated" the team about Fernando Alonso ahead of the Spaniard's impending arrival. It was confirmed at the start of F1's summer break that Alonso would join the British outfit for 2023 after a two-year comeback stint with Alpine, meaning that he would replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel. Following his two World Championships in 2005 and 2006, Alonso went on to win races with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, but has not taken a victory in the sport since 2013. In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.com , Krack suggested that it would be "unfair" to judge the 41-year-old on this, and detailed the reasons why Aston Martin were keen to bring him on board.
Krack 'fascinated' by Alonso's characteristics
"There is more than that," Krack responded when quizzed on Alonso's lack of wins over the past decade. "If you look at the cars that he has driven, they were not winning cars in the previous years, so I think it's unfair to judge [on] victories and podiums. "When you look at what he has done in all the teams where he's driven, he's normally the faster of the two [drivers]. "Now, the points [scored] is something that, you'll see, it's also reliability driven, but what we are fascinated [by] is this commitment, and this desire to win. "Pushing himself to the maximum, at his level of experience, is very seldom [seen]."
How the process of signing Alonso unfolded
With the news of Alonso's signing coming just days after Vettel's retirement announcement, Krack says that the process of recruiting Alonso happened "quickly" following Vettel's decision. "As a team, you have to do your homework," Krack said. "And we were always having Sebastian as Plan A, that was clear from the beginning, but we also told Sebastian, 'If you decide not to continue, we have also to talk to other drivers', and he was comfortable with that. "I remember we had conversations with Sebastian where we clearly said, 'We will speak to others, we will speak to managers, you will see us maybe speak to others'. This is a normal process, and he was fine with that. "Then we just waited for Sebastian to make his decision, and we acted accordingly. We had then decided, who would we go for if they were available? And then it went quickly." Krack also firmly denied any rumours of Vettel being told that his services were no longer required. "No, this is not true. This is not true at all," he added. "Sebastian made the conscious decision to stop, and he informed us on the Wednesday before Budapest, and we had then to really go flat out to have a replacement."
Krack not expecting 'problems' with Alonso
During Alonso's time in the sport, several team bosses have departed whilst the Spaniard was at a team, with Ron Dennis at McLaren and Stefano Domenicali at Ferrari among them. Krack is not concerned by this and hasn't been anticipating any problems from Alonso's arrival. "Obviously, there is a reputation, but I try to leave this on the side," Krack commented. "I think we have to have a fresh approach. I'm maybe different than other team principals, and he's maybe a driver that is different. "I would be surprised if we have problems."
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