Fernando Alonso returned to the podium 14 months after riding with Alpine in Qatar in 2021. He did so on his debut with Aston Martin in Bahrain, at the wheel of the AMR23, and after Max Verstappen’s unattainable Red Bull, which started the season as it ended last year, winning, and Checo Pérez. The Mexican analyzed the race and left a joke that could well be a little message addressed to the british team.
“It’s nice to see three Red Bull cars on the podium”, he pointed to the media, holding out for a single second before outlining a big smile. His words made his partner laugh and made the Spaniard laugh too.
Everything seems to indicate that the Aztec, always a joker, wanted to praise with a joke the very fast car of the Spanish driver, who left Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the sand with three impressive overtaking moves.
In this sense, the main culprit for Aston Martin’s good pace in the race is none other than Dan Fallowsformer head of aerodynamics at Red Bull who has held the position of technical director at the Silverstone team since this year.
Checo Pérez’s words also coincide with those of Helmut Marko, adviser to the Austrian team, who after the race threw a dart at the British engineer: “Today we have had three Red Bulls on the podiumonly the last one with a different engine”, he told Servus TV, according to the newspaper Brand.
The former driver made it clear that he thinks the AMR23 design is a replica of the Red Bull car, and acknowledges that “you cannot erase” what Fallows “had in his head.” “Focus copying is not prohibited,” he points out, before wondering if “Can you copy in such detail without having documentation of our car?”points to the same means.
