Reunited at Aston Martin, Alonso’s ex-F1 teammate delivers rare positive verdict

Alonso and Vandoorne spent two years together at McLaren between 2017 and 2018.

The Spaniard dominated during their two-year spell, out-qualifying Vandoorne 21-0 in 2018.

For F1 2023, Alonso has switched from Alpine to Aston Martin as Sebastian Vettel’s replacement, while Vandoorne is the team’s new reserve driver having left Mercedes.

Over his F1 career, Alonso has had difficult relationships with some of his teammates, with his former Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, criticising him for “splitting” the team.

His relationship with Esteban Ocon ended on a sour note after the pair collided at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

However, Vandoorne has spoken fondly about the two-time world champion, admitting that they have a “great relationship”.

"The only teammates I had in F1 were Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso – both world champions, and Fernando a double champion,” he told Mirror Sport.

"It's always great as a young driver coming in to work alongside a very experienced driver. You have to be open minded and see how they approach and build their race weekends. Fernando is one of the greatest to do that. I have a great relationship with him."

Speaking about his decision to leave Mercedes, he explained: "It was a natural change. In the last couple of years I had my reserve driver role with Mercedes. I was excited to join Aston Martin on a completely different journey. 

"It's a team investing a lot of money into the future to try to become one of the leading teams. For me, to be a part of that right now helping to develop the car in that direction is great. Hopefully I can help them to become a winning team soon."