Fernando Alonso secured a P3 in his first-ever race with Aston Martin in Bahrain. He followed it up with another 3rd place in Saudi Arabia, which was also his 100th career podium.
Currently, the Spaniard is on a hot streak and is 3rd in the 2023 championship standings behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. He could also complete a hat-trick of podiums for the first time since 2013.
Aston Martin has helped the 2x champion maintain a healthy distance from the rest of the grid. The AMR23 is expected to be the 2nd or 3rd fastest car on the grid ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso. The Centurion. 💯#SaudiArabianGP #F1 @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/pD4LPgzrNk
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2023
But the Spaniard believes in a few more races, Aston Matrin’s podium run could end. As other teams finally bring in key upgrades and catch up with the Silverstone-based outfit.
Alonso does not think that Aston Marton will remain the fastest
Alonso claims what his team has achieved in the first two races of the season is fantastic. But there is no certainty if the team can sustain such a run for the rest of the season.
Alonso claimed, “I think we have to wait and see. From Baku or Imola we might see teams doing changes to the cars. That could change how competitive you feel.”
LOADING ‘Fernando Alonso’s 33rd race win’…99% complete.#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/J4vENulIc5
— F1 StatsGuru (@f1statsguru) March 26, 2023
With Miami and Baku being street circuits, most of the teams are expected to bring upgrades at Imola. This includes the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, both of whom Aston Martin has managed to outperform.
But for a team that finished 7th last season, challenging for podiums is indeed an achievement. He added, “At the moment we are happy with the performance of the car, it was better than expected. Especially in Jeddah, it was a nice surprise. We are still fully confident.”
Fernando Alonso talks about the grid box issue
Alonso was issued a penalty in the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP for not aligning his car properly in his grid box. The Spaniard was handed a 5-second penalty which almost cost him his podium in Jeddah.
This was the second case of the season. Esteban Ocon was penalized for a similar violation in the season opener in Bahrain. And this strange repetition was enough for Alonso to prove something was wrong.
The 2x champion commented, “It is difficult. And this year it’s even more. Apparently in the two races so far we have had two penalties which are a bit strange.”
⚠️ | F1 has made the starting grid boxes 20cm wider for this weekend.
This should help prevent a repeat of the issues Ocon and Alonso had in the first two rounds.
[📸@andihaupt1] pic.twitter.com/8alHMFnkTI
— formularacers (@formularacers_) March 29, 2023
Drivers have complained to the FIA that the lines guiding the grid boxes are not visible. This forced FIA to widen the grid boxes by 20 cm for the 2023 Australian GP. They have also drawn a line at the center of the grid box to allow drivers to align to the center. But the Aston Martin driver believes it won’t help.
The Spaniard stated, “The center line won’t help much because you approach the box looking sideways, not forwards. The 20 cm will help. There are going to be some difficulties in Monaco or Imola where you have to start sideways. If you start straight over there you will crash.”
Alonso will be hoping to extend his podium run for as long as possible. But he searches for his 33rd F1 race win, after all his last race win came back in 2013.
