Fernando Alonso

Vettel Contacted Aston Martin After Alonso’s Podium Finish

Mikey Brown, Fernando Alonso’s chief mechanic, has revealed that Sebastian Vettel congratulated the team on the Spanish driver’s podium finish in the opening race of the 2023 F1 season.

“Seb got on well with everyone in the team, not just me. He sent me a message on Sunday after the race and was very happy for us. Getting this podium was not a product of luck in my humble opinion. It was a deserved podium. We were able to catch Mercedes and Ferrari and pass them on track. OK, Leclerc dropped out, but it was still a solid podium,” Brown said in an interview with PitStop.

Brown stressed that it was already clear that the AMR23 was going to be very competitive.

“You can see that it’s a well-balanced car and it looks good. When that happens with a single-seater, it’s normal for it to be fast. The lap times don’t lie. You never know what the other teams are doing, but we set good times in testing and we take that into the race,” he said.

The Advantage of Having Championship-Winning Drivers

Brown, who has worked in the Aston Martin setup for seven years now (the team was initially named Force India, then Racing Point and finally became Aston Martin), feels privileged to have worked with champions Vettel and Alonso.

“It’s incredible how they make the most of every session and how they show their wisdom in every comment. They shine on and off the track. For example, it’s amazing what Fernando did in Bahrain with those overtakes on the Mercedes,” Brown said.

The Silverstone-based mechanic also talked about Alonso’s contribution to the development of the AMR23.

“We already had a lot of feedback from him at the Abu Dhabi 2022 test, where he got into the Aston Martin for the first time,” he recalled.

Alonso, Setting an Example

As for the possibility of Vettel returning to F1, Brown didn’t rule anything out. The Heppenheim native is 35 years old and could look to Alonso as an example, who, despite being the oldest on the grid, is in enviable shape.

Fernando took a two-year sabbatical (he competed in other disciplines) before returning to the Gran Circo with Alpine.

“I would love to see Seb come back. What happened must have left him with a bittersweet taste in the mouth. He must have thought, ‘It could have been me.’ But at the same time he’s happy for everyone. Vettel can come back. Just look at what Alonso has done. At 41 years old, he was able to get back on the podium,” said Brown.

The post Vettel Contacted Aston Martin After Alonso’s Podium Finish was originally published on MARCA.

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