Former F1 manager of Tyrrell and Benetton, among other teams, Joan Villadelprat is impressed with Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin and compares the Spaniard to footballer Lionel Messi. Villadelprat sees that Alonso's performance alone is not enough for Aston Martin.
At Monza during the Italian GP, the car Aston Martin gave to Alonso was also not good enough, but the analyst says it is mostly going wrong for the team with the second driver. The difference between Lance Stroll and Alonso is too big. Speaking to El Confidencial, Villadelprat says: "Aston Martin is playing only with Messi. You need someone besides him. You don't see Stroll anywhere."
The Spaniard continues: "That has a lot of impact on the constructors' championship. He is not a phenomenon, but he is regularly in the top 10 and Fernando in the top five. That definitely adds up, but lately, Stroll has been doing really terrible. All the eggs are in Alonso's basket."
Since the AMR23 did not do well in Italy, Villadelprat expects Alonso to do well again in Singapore, the upcoming GP weekend. After all, the circuits are very different from each other. The F1 expert says, "In Singapore, Fernando will be on top again. If it is up to Alonso, at least. He just needs a good car. Aston Martin has built a good car, but they have not gone in the same direction as the other teams. McLaren was a disaster but has improved a lot."