By Steve Keating
MONTREAL (Reuters) – Fernando Alonso can be aggressive on the track but away from the circuit the Aston Martin driver left the tough talk to team owner Lawrence Stroll, who is looking for both his cars to finish on the podium at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Montreal stop is the home race for the Canadian billionaire and Stroll told Reuters this week that he was hoping to see his son Lance, who would be the first Canadian on the home podium since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996, and Alonso to finish in the top three.
An upbeat Alonso hoped he could live up to his boss’s expectation this weekend.
“It is an aggressive target for weekend but we know Lawrence, the ambition for him is super high always and we will try make him happy and proud in (his) home country,” the Spanish double-world champion told reporters on Thursday.
Alonso’s caution is well placed.
The Spaniard and Aston Martin had high hopes for the last race the Spanish Grand Prix but failed to deliver with Stroll placing sixth and Alonso seventh.
Instead it was a resurgent Mercedes applying the pressure with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell taking second and third to leapfrog Aston Martin for second place in the constructors’ standings.
Top spot on the podium is once again being conceded to the rampaging Red Bulls, who barring something unforeseen are expected to continue their domination at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Dutch double world champion Max Verstappen has won five of seven races so far this season and is chasing a fourth victory in a row to stretch his already yawning 53 point lead over Mexican team mate Sergio Perez, who has won the other two.
“Let’s see I think it should be a good weekend but you never know until you hit the track,” said Alonso.
“We had expectations in Barcelona and we did not perform in that race so let’s see.
“We have couple of new parts on the car as well for this race and depending on the weather we will try to test them and validate them and hopefully we can be more competitive than in Barcelona.”
With five podiums so far since joining Aston Martin at the end of last season, Alonso is back on form. With the team bringing upgrades to Montreal, they should contend for a podium finish.
Driving for Alpine last year, Alonso started on the front row alongside polesitter and race winner Verstappen and finished ninth.
“You have to have confidence in the car. You are very close to the walls and you need to ride the kerbs as well as be very aggressive,” Alonso said referring to his approach to the island circuit named after Ferrari great Gilles Villeneuve.
“Some experience is always good and this is 17th, 18th grand prix so it always helps.”
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Montreal. Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
