(Motorsport) Two time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso has been key to Aston Martin’s 2023 car changes, according to deputy technical director Eric Blandin. The Spaniard joined Aston Martin from Alpine and has already tested the 2023 car in post-season testing in Abu Dhabi. The British manufacturer had a disappointing 2022 season, finishing seventh in the Constructors Standings despite significant investment by team owner Lawrence Stroll. Four time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who had partnered with Lance Stroll for Aston Martin then announced his retirement during the 2022 season, prompting the team to sign Alonso, who is another experienced Formula 1 driver.

“Fernando’s feedback is extremely precise. He clearly communicated what he wanted from the car and immediately identified a few things that we’ve been able to feed into the design of the AMR23. Last season, Fernando drove a car that was quite different from ours – and more competitive. After driving the AMR22, he was quickly able to compare the two cars and say, ‘This is clearly better, this is clearly worse, and this is what we should focus on. We took all our learnings from last year’s car and applied them to this year’s car.

“So much of the AMR23 is new, it’s completely different from the AMR22. We’ve changed more than 90 per cent of the parts and more than 95 per cent of the aerodynamic surfaces are different. The AMR22 became a laboratory. We tested so many things on the track to further our understanding and that growth in understanding was underlined by our improved performance towards the end of last season. We were able to push the performance envelope with how we were running the car. This would not have been possible with the initial concept we had at the start of the season.” – Aston Martin deputy technical director Eric Blandin

“Next year’s car will be very different compared to this one, so any feedback that you get from this one is not really relevant for when we drive the AMR23. But I saw some different philosophies around setting up the car, developing the car, as well as managing the power unit. There are many things that you get initial feedback from; we will have to sit down and try to get the best out of everything. You can feel the energy in the team and how motivated everyone is. I can’t wait for next year. I felt a very special atmosphere in the garage.” – Fernando Alonso

Blandin joined Aston Martin after an extremely successful 10 year spell at Mercedes where he served as team principal as well as chief aerodynamicist. The AMR23 will be launched by Aston Martin on February 13, 10 days before pre-season testing begins in Bahrain. The 2023 Formula 1 season will begin in Bahrain from March 3-5.

Also read: Mercedes chief Toto Wolff optimistic of car development for 2023 season