Fernando Alonso sparked euphoria in the Aston Martin garage at the first grand prix of the year. the asturian signed his podium 99 on the Bahrain track, a success that, beyond the feat, has confirmed that the English team’s expectations were set too low when the car was presented just a few weeks ago.
The pre-season tests progressively increased the illusion in a few days in which Alonso’s fans had a hard time ‘keeping their feet on the ground’, a message that the team insistently transmitted, and that the two-time world champion He blew up at the first exchange.
One year and four months later, the Asturian rider climbed back onto the third step of the podium, equaling the mark he miraculously achieved with the 2021 Alpine at the Lusail circuit. The deed is the same but the sensations are very differentand that is what now fuels the ambition of a pilot who has remained in the shadows for too many years.
“This is a very nice car to drive”, was the phrase he launched on the radio and with which Fernando Alonso summed up his experience aboard the AMR23 this Sunday when he had not yet crossed the finish line but it was known on the podium. Moments before he had surpassed Hamilton’s Mercedes and Sainz’s Ferrari in an exhibition that cannot be compared at all to the ‘accidental’ podium number 98 achieved on board the car of the French team.
The car runs like its competitors and can now look ahead and pay a little less attention to the mirrors, as he demonstrated in a race in which he started losing positions and ended up chaining overtaking passes. After so many years in the shadows, the prototype designed by the British team seems to be perfectly suited to the aspirations of a driver focused on returning to the podium in the next race. the one that would be number 100in Saudi Arabia.
A ‘riot’ in the Aston Martin garage
The work of 800 people paid off sooner than expected and proof of this It is the party that was lived after the third position of Alonso and Lance’s creditable sixth place -despite being seriously injured-. The Spaniard encouraged his team by lifting the trophy, and from there began some celebrations that lasted longer than expected after the race.
Thirteen days remain for the next test where the car could already present some improvements. The AMR23 has no ceiling, and can finish the course with much more capacity than the one already shown in Bahrain, confirming its hegemony over Mercedes and Ferrari.
