Aston Martin know they will have to work hard to keep Fernando Alonso happy when he joins the team next season.
The Spaniard announced in the summer that he had turned down an offer from his current team Alpine to move to the Silverstone team. The main attraction for the 41-year-old was that they were willing to offer him a multi-year deal – something his current team was reluctant to do.
But just because they were able to offer him more longevity, it doesn't mean Alonso is guaranteed to be satisfied at Aston Martin. Asked about recent comments from the Spaniard about wanting to fight for the championship, the team's performance director Tom McCullough said he is aware of the racer's undying desire for success.
"I'm still getting to know Fernando," he told reporters in Brazil. "I'll tell you one thing, he's a very motivated and competitive character. You can see that from the outside. I'm starting to see that a little bit when I talk to him. He is focused solely on doing well.
"He sees a good future with our team. He sees the journey we're on. Really happy to have him on board our team. He's going to push us in every area of the team. He's not going to be happy fighting in the midfield. He wants to be part of the step we’re wanting to take, which is to start challenging the top three teams.
"I think fighting for world championships next year is, let's be realistic, that isn't going to happen. We're on a journey. We are growing as a team. We're getting stronger as a team. I think Fernando is going to add significantly to that as well.
"And he's realistic, you know. He's on the journey with us. If we can fight the top three teams next year, I'm sure we'll be happy with that. And then from there, just carry on the journey we're on to try to catch the guys up at the front who are doing the best job at the moment."
Meanwhile, Alonso made it clear this weekend he cannot wait to jump in an Aston Martin car and bring his Alpine career to a close. He has been frustrated all season over reliability issues, and his mood was worsened still on Saturday after a collision with team-mate Esteban Ocon in the Sprint.
Asked after the race if he had spoken with the Frenchman, Alonso replied: "No, not really – I don't need to. One more race and it's over, finally. I was very close to the wall in Jeddah, I think, close to the wall in Budapest, today in turn four. This is the way things are, sometimes it's very competitive inside the team. Yeah, it's one more race."
