Aston Martin “needed a driver like Fernando Alonso” to push towards the front of the grid, according to fellow Spaniard and friend Pedro de la Rosa. “Fernando will not say it, but he has changed his plan because he considers this to be a better plan. “It caught us all off guard,” de le Rosa, a former colleague of Alonso’s at both McLaren and Ferrari, admitted. “It’s the perfect letter of introduction to sign engineers,” de la Rosa smiled. “When you sign Alonso, it’s not to be in the middle of the grid. Ok, it is a worse team now, but it is a team that is investing a lot.

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