F1 News: Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin "felt basically the same" as Alpine car
Fernando Alonso admits that Aston Martin's AMR22 felt similar to his Alpine, having completed almost 100 laps for Aston in the post-season test.
Several drivers - including Alonso - are taking advantage of the Abu Dhabi post-season test to spend time with their new teams and mechanics ahead of 2023.
Alonso has previously explained the importance of this test for making adjustments at Aston Martin and feeling more comfortable within the team before next season.
Next year's cars will be significantly different from this year, but drivers can still begin to learn the different procedures and processes of their new teams.
After completing a significant 97 laps for Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso told the media about his feelings in the car:
"I was happily surprised on everything, but this year's car is not near what we will run next year, so it is not anything to get confident [about] or anything like that.
"It's not that it is [the 2023 car] going to be a continuation.
"For sure, they had a very strong weekend here, Sebastian qualifying in front of me, so I don't think there was much of a difference between Aston and Alpine on the weekend.
"And it felt basically the same as well, I felt a very competitive car. Nothing really surprised me, the car was behaving well."
Alonso was pleased with the handling of the Aston Martin machine, not feeling the need to make any significant changes.
Alpine's power steering proved a significant issue for Alonso at the start of 2021, only receiving his preferred steering input several races into the season.
At least for now, the Spaniard is satisfied that no such alterations are necessary, although this could change in pre-season testing ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Whilst Alonso's positive positive feedback will have little impact on Aston Martin's competitiveness next year, the Double World Champion seems to be making a smooth transition to his new team.