The start to life at Aston Martin could not have gone better for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons away from F1 before deciding to return with Alpine, an outfit that helped him win his only two championships to date. However, his aim of fighting at the front was not possible in Enstone, because of their poor mechanical package.
Alonso’s gamble to join a team that was struggling behind Alpine has paid off. He secured three consecutive P3 finishes in the first three races of the season and insists that they are only going to get better.
The Australian GP took place on 3rd April and the next round of the championship takes place in Baku on 30th April. Alonso feels that this gap will help his team prepare better and get potentially stronger for the upcoming races.
Alonso feels that Baku will not just witness a change in his team’s performance, but predicts a widespread change throughout the grid. The three-week gap will play a huge role in helping teams sort their early season problems out. However, there is another factor at play that Alonso pointed out.
Fernando Alonso explains why bringing upgrades will be easier now
The official F1 pre-season test and the first three races of the season were all held outside of Europe. Hence, teams did not bring their upgrades with them since they are far away from Europe, where all of the teams are based. Now that F1 is heading to Baku, things will change.
Barring the Miami GP and the Canadian GP, all the F1 races leading up to the summer break will be in Europe. This will allow the teams to transport their upgrades more easily. Alonso thinks that this will bring out a shake-up in the F1 grid, and he expects a lot of surprises.
“I think for the first three races that aren’t in Europe, it’s difficult to bring upgrades and things like that,” he said to Motorsport Total. “Now begins a part of the season that will be very interesting.”
Alonso and Aston Martin not satisfied with P3 finishes
When Alonso returned to F1 in 2021, the 41-year-old made it clear that he wanted to fight for wins and titles again. Alpine could not provide him with that, but Aston Martin as brought him closer to his goals. Now that he is standing on the podium regularly, he wants to climb another two steps.
Alonso is desperate for a win, and potentially fight for the championship. In fact team principal Mike Krack revealed that owner Lawrence Stroll is already demanding a stronger car, despite them making huge strides over the winter.
This hunger to succeed along with developments set to come in, should make Aston Martin more competitive in races to come.
