Aston Martin has more to gain from signing Fernando Alonso than vice versa, Felipe Massa claims.
On Monday, the Silverstone-based team shocked Formula 1 by announcing a multi-year deal with the double world champion from 2023, replacing the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
Though Alonso cited the investment and potential of Aston Martin as his reasons for moving from Alpine, some have questioned if this is yet another bad career move by the Spaniard.
With Massa wondering who really benefits most from the deal.
“Fernando is an amazing driver, I had the chance to be teammates with him for a long time at Ferrari,” the Brazilian said on Sky Sports’ Any Driven Monday.
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“I learned a lot from him. He’s, in my view, one of the best drivers in Formula 1. It was a little bit strange to hear that decision, to sign with Aston Martin.
“I think Aston Martin has a lot to gain with Fernando there. I don’t know if Fernando has a lot to gain by being there at Aston Martin, in my view.
“The most important thing for Fernando is to have a competitive car, to show what he’s able to do.
“But I don’t think if things stay the way they are now, Fernando fighting for 10th, 11th, 12th position, I don’t think it will be really interesting for him.”
And while Alonso and the Stroll family have a long relationship stretching back to when they were both associated with Ferrari, Massa also wonders if Fernando will bring the right dynamic to Aston Martin alongside Lance.
“He’s very talented, he’s very intelligent. He understands a lot about how to be quick in one lap for qualifying, he’s one of the quickest drivers in qualifying,” Felipe said.
“He’s also very, very consistent during the race. He understands how to manage the tyres in the right way, and to speak with the team.
“The only problem is he splits a team in the middle. I never had any problem working or talking with him, but he always managed to put everything on his side and split the team a little bit in the middle.
“If he has a competitive car, he definitely can help the team a lot. But if he doesn’t have a competitive car, he can really be a problem.”