Fernando Alonso believes his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll "has the possibility to be world champion"

Fernando Alonso, who signed a multi-year contract with the Aston Martin F1 team, believes that his new teammate Lance Stroll "has the possibility to be world champion."

Fernando Alonso claimed to have known Stroll for over ten years, meeting the Canadian during his time at Ferrari. Additionally, he has "many years" of friendship with Lawrence Stroll, the father of the Canadian and owner of the Aston Martin F1 team.

As a talented young driver who has grown to be a valuable asset to Aston Martin, Stroll's development as a driver has been "amazing" to observe, according to Alonso. He pointed out that Stroll performs especially well in rainy situations, which has led to some of his most outstanding efforts, like his victory on the pole at the 2020 F1 Turkish Grand Prix.

In an interview with Aston Martin, Alonso said:

“He has the speed, and he has the talent. He has shown it many times, especially in wet conditions. I remember Lance’s pole position in Turkey and some of his other excellent performances in the wet; to perform at that level in difficult conditions you have to have a special feeling with the car.”

Fernando Alonso added:

“In Lance, the team has a driver who is super young, super talented and has the possibility to be World Champion. To see him achieve that and have played a part in that, whether that’s behind the wheel or not, will be special for me.”

Alonso acknowledges that even while he doesn't yet appear to be interested in leaving Formula 1, he would still be proud if Stroll and Aston Martin began to succeed when his time with Aston is up.

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Lance Stroll excited to work with Fernando Alonso

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Previews

The upcoming season will see Lance Stroll race with Fernando Alonso as Aston Martin attempts to move up the grid. The Silverstone-based team will be will be revealing their new 2023 car on February 13.

Some have predicted that Stroll could be overwhelmed by Fernando Alonso's unrelenting speed, but the 24-year-old seems unfazed by the task he will face in the upcoming season.

Lance Stroll said (via speedcafe):

"I think it's really exciting. He's obviously a really talented driver, has a lot of experience."

The 24 year old Canadian driver is looking forward to learning from the double world champion during their time together on the team. With Aston Martin bringing new changes within the team, their main goal will be to win races and eventually compete for the championship position.