Alonso delivers Aston Martin standards warning

Fernando Alonso has insisted he is ready to "deliver something special" as an Aston Martin driver and warned his new team he expects such lofty standards to be reciprocated.

The two-time champion brought an end to his third association with Enstone-based Alpine to make the switch to Aston Martin as the replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who retired at the conclusion of the season.

Alonso will join Aston Martin in the third year of the Silverstone-based outfit's five-season plan to reach the top of F1 and challenge for championships.

The Spaniard, despite being 41, still harbours ambitions of winning a third title, even though it will be 17 years next season since his previous triumph in 2006.

Asked if he would continue if he felt this was unattainable, Alonso told selected media including GPFans: “No. I think I would not accept that.

"I would not continue if I didn’t believe that we could have a chance. I don’t know if it’s a one percent chance or a 10 percent chance, but I only continue because I believe that we will have a chance.

“Next year, to close the gap that Aston Martin has now I think is unrealistic.

"But we need to put the foundations in, we need to put the baseline for future cars and to work better than the people around us.

“This is a very competitive environment, so to become champion, you need to deliver something special.

“I’m ready to deliver something special from my side and I expect the same from them.”

Additional reporting by Ewan Gale