The start of the 2023 Formula 1 season has been dream for Fernando Alonso, practically unbeatable. Of course, he could have taken the victory, his 33rd, much better than that initial podium finish as third place in Bahrain, but Red Bull is unattainable for now.
Even so, his debut with Aston Martin served for many things: the Asturian driver he suddenly recovered his morale and passion that had been diluted after years and years of resounding failures, and added his 99th podium; while Aston Martin and the AMR23 proved to be very competitivethat they are not a flower of a day and that They have arrived to grow and challenge the leading teams.
In the first round of the World Cup, in Sakhir, Alonso positioned the AMR23 as second fastest car on the grid, and already dropped that big packages with improvements were coming for the following races. Even so, it will not be immediately, so Alonso believes that Aston Martin’s performance in the next two testswhere he supposedly should suffer more than in Bahrain, will prove his position.
Aston Martin’s step forward in 2023 is as obvious as surprising, inside and outside the British team. Since the AMR23 was presented to society, those from Silverstone They have wanted to be cautious, prudent in their statements and forecastsbut Alonso’s smiles and gestures have always betrayed them, especially after that first weekend in which the Oviedo was third and Stroll, recently operated, was sixth.
Whether they like it or not, both the fans and their rivals on the track (especially Red Bull and Mercedes) as well as the FIA itself have placed them in the list of favorites to win races and even fight the World Cup. His car features a completely new concept compared to 2022and therefore has much more room for improvement than its competitorswho preferred to invest in the concept of last season and improve it.
Instead, the feeling in Aston Martin is more of idisbelief, in a good way, before the optimal results obtained so early in the season, as Alonso expressed in his statements after the Bahrain GP: “You always hope to take a step back and come back to reality, but the situation seems real“. An extraordinary drive to double the effort and work at Aston Martin.
The Asturian continues to approach the performance of the AMR23 and its real possibilities with great caution, without getting into puddles that could splash him, and without promising anything beyond winks and gestures to his followers. For this reason, he explains that his performance in the two Grand Prix that follows Bahrain will determine his true situation:
“Now we go to Jeddah, I’m curious about Saudi Arabia and Australia. They are very different circuits, with high speed cornering and little degradation. I think in Bahrain we were strong in ways that we may not find in Jeddah and Melbourne. So, if we are strong in the next two races we will have a very good 2023“, has assured the two-time world champion.
