F1
De la Rosa: “A dream to see Alonso as world champion again”
Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando Alonso, a close relationship at Aston Martin © Aston Martin
Retired from the Formula 1 for more than a decade, Pedro de la Rosa has remained no less attached and connected to the community. New ambassador of the team Aston Martin since the end of 2022, the Spaniard has followed in the footsteps of his compatriot and great friend: Fernando Alonso. The two men are almost inseparable, regularly together in the paddocks. This season, the double world champion is having his best start in a championship since 2013, with two podiums in as many races.
Obviously, with a very efficient Aston Martin AMR23, fantasies are allowed about a new world champion title, 17 years after the second acquired in 2006. If hopes remain slim in 2023, both the Red Bull dominated the first two Grands Prix, Pedro de la Rosa does not hide his optimism.
“It would be a dream to see Fernando crowned world champion again, declared the ex-Formula 1 driver on the Aston Martin website. He deserves it. Whatever you do in life, if you give your best, sooner or later you will be rewarded, and Fernando gave his best for decades. Considering the journey he's been on, everything he's invested in and everything he's been through, winning the world championship again would be the ideal conclusion to a remarkable career in F1. »
De la Rosa highlights Alonso's resilience
According to De la Rosa, the strength of character of his friend Alonso resists in his resilience, after a career thwarted by a succession of bad choices. “There are many world champions who lose their advantage when they no longer have a competitive car, underlines the Spaniard. Fernando is not like that. He kept his level and his motivation. The fact of having achieved as many podiums in F1 as him and still having the same hunger as when he started, despite not having had a competitive car for so many years, is something that I really admire about him. »
At the age of 41, Fernando Alonso surprises with his speed, intact after more than 20 years of career. An astonishment which is not shared by Pedro de la Rosa, who does not admit to being surprised by the performances of the Bull of Asturias in 2023.
«When other drivers are nervous about what awaits them, Fernando is not, confides the former driver who moved to Jaguar and McLaren. You are with him a few moments before the race and he smiles, laughs and jokes. He's like a child getting ready to go to the park with his friends to play football. You wouldn't think he's about to drive an F1 car. He stays relaxed and that's part of the reason why, after all these years, he's still able to compete at such a high level. »
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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28/03/2023 at 11:20 a.m.
A 3rd crown, we can wish it to Fernand, he who has not always made the right choices! That being said, with the possible domination of Red Bull in 2023 or even 2024, it is very far from being won...