Fernando Alonso is Aston Martin's showpiece in Formula 1, but he does not want to label himself as a key figure. Ahead of the China Grand Prix, the 42-year-old Spaniard says his teammate Lance Stroll can, in fact, give more detailed feedback back to the team.

"I don't think so," Alonso replied in the press conference when asked if he was a key figure within the Aston Martin organisation. "I think Lance and I try to help the team as much as possible. I think in some circumstances we have two different driving styles. We have two different feelings about the car. I think Lance is much more sensitive [in the positive sense of the word] to things than I am, which I think is very, very important for the team."

Feedback Stroll important for Aston Martin

Indeed, it is not as if Aston Martin is blindly relying on Alonso's feedback. "I think the analysis that Lance can make and can feed back to the team is crucial for us and for improving the car. I am sometimes a bit insensitive to things and that is not good. I think we are both trying to help as much as we can. And I think the direction we develop the car and the set-ups we normally make in a weekend are exactly the same. So we come to the same conclusion, maybe in a different way. And I think those two different styles are just good for us."

Alonso sometimes drives around the problems a bit more, he went on to explain. "And sometimes that's good, because I can drive any car at any time and get 90 per cent out of it. But to get 100 per cent of the car's potential, sometimes I can't do without - as I said - my teammate's help with the special details of the set-up or balance problems here and there. So I think we benefit from each other in many different ways. And that's a good thing at the moment."

Whether Stroll will also drive for Aston Martin next year is not yet known. The chances of the British formation sticking with the same line-up as this year seem high. After all, Lance's father owns the team.