The biggest winners in the season-opening race were Red Bull and Aston Martin. Max Verstappen, with ease, got the win from his Bahrain trip. On the other hand, Fernando Alonso confirmed the Aston Martin threat with a P3 result by beating Ferrari.
With Red Bull getting a P1 & 2 as Sergio Perez also got a podium, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit was the only side Alonso couldn’t beat. However, Max Verstappen claims there will be days when the situation can differ.
After an impactful performance by the Spaniard, he expects Verstappen to defeat him for the wins. He sees Alonso and his team doing multiple times during this season.
Ooohhhh Fernando Alonso! 👏 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/Q0NjhLauTm
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 5, 2023
Also read: Carlos Sainz Claims He Was Helpless Against Fernando Alonso’s Scathing Attack
Max Verstappen expects Fernando Alonso to beat him
Verstappen praises Aston Martin for rolling out a car that can perform in the front. Though he is unsure about Aston Martin fighting for the championship, he sees them fighting for the wins.
“For this year, it’s difficult to say if they’re going to challenge for the championship, but race wins are definitely on the table,” said Verstappen to Race.com. “I’ve been in the same position where some races I’m finishing 20-40 seconds behind the winners and you still win two or three races a year.”
Verstappen further backs his answers that amidst the calendar with 23 different tracks, there’ll be a few times when some tracks would suit Aston Martin more. Thus, that would be when Alonso would pick up wins.
Alonso deserves to win
When Verstappen was asked whether he sees Alonso winning this year, the current world champion replied that he hopes his opponents get some success this year. He reasons that for years Alonso had been struggling with uncompetitive cars.
Therefore, now with better machinery, he can aim to return to the top again. Exactly 10 years ago, Alonso had his last F1 victory when he raced at his home Grand Prix in Barcelona.
But that curse could break after a decade. Verstappen hopes Aston Martin keeps developing their car in the right direction and extracts maximum success with the AMR23.
Fernando Alonso is back pic.twitter.com/bniUVyx0YT
— Wally (@Wally_F1) March 5, 2023
Meanwhile, Alonso also praised the work done by the engineers on this year’s car. After the end of the race, the 41-year-old said, “this is a lovely car to drive,” after securing his podium in Bahrain.
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