It was announced with remarkable speed – appropriately, you might say – but Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin ticks all the right boxes.

An F1 driver cannot be indecisive, it has long been said. A contemporary of his once told me Nigel Mansell never spent more than a few seconds perusing a restaurant menu, so fast was he to make up his mind. It simply goes with the territory of the job.

And it appears the same is true of Alonso’s sudden switch. Only five days before news of his move from Alpine was made official, we are given to believe Sebastian Vettel had not even told Aston Martin he would be retiring.