How Adrian Newey, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s key players are reacting to their pre-season struggles

“I always say that working with Fernando is fantastic, because you always get 100%. I know people from the outside might think that’s normal in sport, but it’s not normal when you are for many years driving a car that’s not capable of winning races.

“It’s very, very easy to be at your best motivational level, commitment, attitude, when you can see the carrot [on the end of the stick]. When you don’t see that for one decade, but you’re still there pushing every weekend like crazy, every test day, everything, it’s really great to see, great to learn from, and he’s a great inspiration for the team.”

De la Rosa continues: “I feel Fernando is so… I can say happy, to be able to work with Adrian. It’s something he always wanted to do. For one reason or another, their lives have never joined together in motorsport, but now I have the feeling that it’s like, ‘Finally, I can work with him’. They are really proud of being able to at one stage, and before they retire, work together.

“It’s massively positive energy from both of them. Watching them together, you see them sitting there, talking about the car and what’s next, and it’s really inspiring for all of us in the team. No one is happy about where we are, as we are far from where we wanted to be, but we are not worried in that sense.

“The same with Lance, too. I can see how motivated he is to make this project a success, especially with Adrian’s arrival. Lance has been here since the start, helping build the team, and on these challenging days he is stepping up and showing his maturity and leadership.”