Fernando Alonso still seems to be in disbelief at seeing the staggering improvement his Aston Martin team has made over the winter. The Spaniard recently compared the British outfit’s rise to that of Brawn GP, who surprised everybody by winning both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ championships in the 2009 season.
As for Aston Martin, they currently find themselves as the second fastest side, just behind reigning champions Red Bull. This is in stark contrast to the seventh-place finish they had last year.
Alonso has clinched back-to-back podiums in the season’s first two races. Meanwhile, his teammate, Lance Stroll, secured a decent sixth-place finish in Bahrain, followed by a DNF in Saudi Arabia.
‘Aston Martin is probably the biggest one’: Fernando Alonso
When asked by formula1.com if he has ever seen any side make as big of a step as Aston Martin has this season, Fernando Alonso replied, “With a non-regulation change, [Aston Martin’s is] probably the biggest one.” He added that the British outfit’s rise has even been more stunning because of the cost cap changes.
The Spaniard then commented about the fantastic rises some other teams had previously witnessed. The 41-year-old praised Ferrari for how they developed the car at the end of the 2021 season.
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Alonso believes that the Prancing Horse was ‘very bad’ in the 2021 season, but then suddenly, in 2022, they were fighting for the championship. He concluded his remarks by also giving his praises to Brawn GP.
Is Aston Martin’s success as authentic as it seems?
After Aston Martin surprised everyone in the paddock during pre-season testing with their stunning improvement from last season, several opposition teams compared their AMR23 to that of Red Bull’s 2022 car. Most of these comparisons were made by the Red Bull team members themselves.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, star driver Sergio Perez and advisor Helmut Marko all took a jibe at Aston Martin after Fernando Alonso claimed a podium in Bahrain. All three of them stated that three Red Bulls (Max Verstappen, Perez) were on the podium instead of two.
Horner’s remarks did not end there as he also claimed that ‘imitation is the biggest form of flattery’. The 49-year-old made these remarks to explain the striking similarities he saw between the Red Bull and the Aston Martin. In this manner, several opposition sides have questioned the originality of Aston Martin’s AMR23.
