The way Aston Martin’s season began in 2023, Fernando Alonso had immense hope that he could clinch his 33rd F1 victory. The Spaniard began the campaign by registering five podiums after the first six races. While he came close to winning a race on several occasions, Red Bull ensured that the 42-year-old would need to wait longer for the same. Now, a recent statistic has pointed out why Alonso will need a miracle to register another win.
On The Race’s F1 Podcast, the hosts were discussing the possibility of Alonso getting back on the top step of the podium again. However, only two drivers, Jack Brabham (43) and Nigel Mansell (41), in the entire history of the sport have been able to win a race after the age of 40.
The hosts argued that once over the age of 40, a driver loses that touch and reflex ability. As for Alonso, it has been an entire decade since he won an F1 race. The last time that the current Aston Martin driver stood on the top step of the podium was at his home race in 2013.
Fernando Alonso failed to achieve his goal despite his early season promise
After a miserable 2022 season, Aston Martin surprised everyone with the AMR23. The car, at the start of the season, was arguably the second-fastest car on the grid. Some suggested that the team had just copied the 2022 RB18.
Moreover, even Red Bull team principal Christian Horner couldn’t help himself and took a hilarious dig at Aston Martin earlier this season. He had joked, “They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery and it’s good to see the old car going so well.”
Alonso Stroll
It was a very one-sided affair in the team-battle battle at Aston Martin in 2023, with Fernando Alonso trouncing Lance Stroll across the season
Will that elusive 33rd #F1 career win for Alonso happen in 2024? pic.twitter.com/U0TH9oMKFM
— Autosport (@autosport) December 8, 2023
After a solid start to the season, the Silverstone-based team started to lose ground to their rivals. Their upgrades didn’t make much progress and a few of them also regressed the car’s pace. In the end, they lost the developmental race as they even lost out on P4 in the Constructors’ championship to McLaren by the end.
Summing up the disappointment of what started as an exceptional year, Fernando Alonso claimed, “This is Formula 1, this is not a charity event. We have to have the pressure, we have to deliver. I mean the fifth in the Constructors hurts a little bit as I think we were better than that or we were hoping better than that at the beginning of the year.”
