F1 News
Alonso to be reunited with McLaren boss from his past at Aston Martin
- GPblog.com
Fernando Alonso sent shock waves through the Formula One paddock when he announced that he would be moving to Aston Martin in 2023. At the Silverstone-based team, he will be reunited with an old friend: Martin Whitmarsh, former McLaren boss and current Group Chief Executive Officer at Aston Martin Performance Technologies.
Alonso and Whitmarsh reunited
Whitmarsh is best known for his long, successful time at the McLaren team, where he worked from 1989 to 2014. There he rose to become CEO of the team and in 2009 took over from Ron Dennis as team principal. After pursuing other opportunities for a number of years, Whitmarsh returned to Formula 1 in 2021 and joined Aston Martin.
Alonso and Whitmarsh have often spoken highly of each other in the past, and after Alonso departs from Woking, the then team boss indicated that he would like to bring the Spaniard back to the team. That happened, but by the time Alonso returned to McLaren in 2015, Whitmarsh had left there again.
While Whitmarsh repeatedly expressed his desire to bring Alonso back to McLaren and the fact that any team would be happy to have the driver, the driver also spoke highly of his former boss. He called him a "good and clever leader" and stated that Aston Martin had made a very good choice by acquiring the Brit.