Forward of his transfer to Aston Martin for 2023, Alonso was permitted to finish a primary run with the crew earlier this week within the post-season check on the Yas Marina Circuit.
Alonso accomplished 97 laps within the Aston Martin AMR22 automotive, and mentioned he was now “100-plus” per cent happy with his decision to leave Alpine for the British team after the primary run-out.
However the automotive needed to check with none sponsors as a result of Alonso’s present settlement with Alpine, that means it was stripped again to its base inexperienced livery, solely that includes decals for Aston Martin, Pirelli and the FIA. Alonso additionally needed to put on black overalls and a dazzle camouflage helmet design for the day.
Perception: What we learned from Alonso’s first Aston Martin Formula 1 test
When Alonso first walked in to the storage alongside Aston Martin ambassador and former grand prix driver Pedro de la Rosa on Tuesday morning, each realised it was much like when he examined for Jaguar in 2002.
“We entered the storage this morning collectively, and we noticed the inexperienced automotive,” Alonso mentioned when requested by Autosport in regards to the connection.
“We each mentioned: ‘That is precisely as Jaguar in 2002!’ However yeah, that is fully a unique mission for certain.”
Fernando Alonso, Jaguar Cosworth R3
Picture by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
Alonso was working as Renault’s check driver via 2002 when he was drafted in by then Jaguar F1 boss Niki Lauda to finish a check within the R3 automotive at Silverstone on the finish of Might.
The season noticed de la Rosa race for Jaguar alongside Eddie Irvine, however the crew struggled for kind, scoring simply eight factors and ending seventh within the standings, its outcomes solely enhancing after introducing a B-spec automotive mid-year.
“This morning when Fernando got here, we have been wanting on the automotive unbranded, and I joked with him as a result of again in 2002, we did a check with Jaguar,” de la Rosa recalled in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“I used to be racing there. They bought Fernando in to say how fast can this automotive go, as a result of Niki was beginning to suppose myself and Eddie have been simply having enjoyable there!
“The automotive was unbranded, inexperienced, he had a totally white general, now he has black.
“I checked out him and he mentioned you bear in mind? And 20 years later, it’s precisely the identical state of affairs: a inexperienced automotive, in unbranded overalls.”
On the time of his check in 2002, Alonso was being linked with a possible transfer to Jaguar within the Spanish media, and though he set the third-fastest time of the check at Silverstone, he maintained he was “solely interested by Renault” for the longer term.
Renault would in the end hand Alonso a race seat for 2003, when he grew to become the youngest race winner in F1 historical past earlier than occurring to win championships with the French producer in 2005 and 2006.
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