Lance Stroll “has the possibility to be World Champion,” according to his new team-mate at Aston Martin Fernando Alonso.
Alonso, World Champion in 2005 and 2006, has joined Aston Martin on a multi-year deal after two seasons at Alpine.
Stroll, 24, is entering his fifth season with Aston Martin – having joined under its Racing Point guise in 2019 – and seventh overall in Formula 1.
Stroll has claimed three podiums, along with a pole position, during his 100-plus race career in Formula 1, and took a best of 11th in the 2020 standings.
Speaking in an interview produced by Aston Martin, Alonso said that Stroll 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.
“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 [in 2020] 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.”
Alonso, 41, will be the oldest racer on the 2023 grid and is now the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history.
He stressed that he is “not thinking about timeframes and how long it will take the team to win races. I will take it race by race, season by season. What’s important is that we keep making progress.
“We need to feel happy with each other and help each other: Aston Martin helping me to achieve the results and the targets that I have and me helping the team to progress every race, every year, to get closer and closer to the top positions.
“I will use all my experience and all my knowledge to help the team shortcut the time that is needed to become World Champions.
“Will I be behind the steering wheel when that time comes? Nobody knows. It’s impossible to predict. But what is certain is that I will try my best.”
Aston Martin’s AMR23 will be presented at Silverstone on Monday.
