Fernando Alonso has had a stellar start to the 2023 season as he guided Aston Martin to their first podium finish since 2021. The Silverstone-based outfit has made some big strides over the winter break and had the second-fastest car on track in the opening round in Bahrain. This promoted a member of Alonso’s team to send out an open challenge to reigning two-time world champion, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen could not have had a more comfortable start to the campaign. The 25-year-old started the race from the pole position and dominated proceedings from the get-go to win the Bahrain GP. His teammate Sergio Perez finished second to seal a one-two finish for Red Bull.
Red Bull may have dominated the Grand Prix in Sakhir, but Aston Martin has certainly caught the entire F1 community’s attention. Ferrari and Mercedes struggled massively in the opening race, so most people are expecting Aston Martin to rise up to the challenge of dethroning Red Bull. Well, Alonso’s first mechanic at Aston Martin certainly seems to think so.
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Fernando Alonso issues open challenge to Max Verstappen?
On his Instagram account, Alonso’s first mechanic at Aston Martin shared a very interesting story. A Verstappen fan page posted an image of the Dutchman and Alonso celebrating in the podium in Bahrain, which the Aston Martin mechanic shared, and wrote, ‘We care coming’.
This was a very bold and interesting challenge issued to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit and Verstappen, who have dominated the sport over the last year.
Alonso himself, is bullish about his new team’s chances this year. During his interviews after the P3 finish in Bahrain, the Spanish driver revealed that this was the start of something special, and that they will only get better with more upgrades set to arrive as the year progresses.
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Will Alonso be able to challenge for the Title?
Alonso is a 2-time world champion in F1, but his wins came in 2005 and 2006 respectively, back when he was driving for Renault. The 41-year-old is in the twilight of this career, but is showing no signs of slowing down. When he returned to the sport in 2021 after a two-year hiatus, he insisted that he wanted to fight for wins and podiums once more before retiring.
Unfortunately, Alpine could not provide him with the car to do that, so he jumped ship to Aston Martin in 2023. His spectacular debut outing with the British team was proof that they made huge strides over the winter break.
Whether Alonso will be able to challenge for a title win this year or in the future is yet to be seen, but fans will be excited regardless, to see the Oviedo-born driver fight at the front once again.
