As the 2023 season began, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s alliance started off on a very strong and promising note. The team were looking like regular podium contenders and many tipped them to be challenging for wins soon. However, mid-way through the season, the Silverstone-based team started facing a dip in performance. Despite slipping back into the midfield, Alonso is adamant he wants to continue his $26 million alliance with Aston Martin as a contract extension until 2025 is reportedly on the cards.
During the season-opener at Bahrain, Aston Martin and Alonso took everyone by surprise. Into the race, the Spaniard made an audacious overtake on Lewis Hamilton and then Carlos Sainz to bag a podium in his very first race for the team. His run of podiums did continue, with the 2023 Sao Paolo GP being the last time the Spaniard stood on the podium.
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In this clip, Woody discusses Alonso’s missed opportunity for a win in Monaco, Aston Martin and Red Bull upgrades, Mick Schumacher and Daniel Riccardo announcement to partake in Pirelli… pic.twitter.com/pGqao8NQIQ
— Track Limits (@tracklimits_pod) June 2, 2023
During the course of the season, Alonso bagged an impressive haul of 8 podiums with the pacey AMR23, with six top 3 finishes in the first 10 races. This prompted the 2-time world champion to hope for that elusive 33rd career win in 2023. Unfortunately, that never materialized.
During the 2023 Monaco GP, Alonso got closest to getting his hands on P1. He was on track to getting pole, however, despite the AMR23’s characteristics suiting the car, Max Verstappen snatched pole from the Spaniard. Given how difficult it is to overtake in the Principality, losing out on pole meant getting his 33rd win was out of the question.
Despite the world’s apprehension, Fernando Alonso ditched Alpine for Aston Martin in 2022
Many pundits and experts labelled Alonso’s move to Aston Martin as a potential career suicide. Given how his career decisions have gone for him in the past, many called the Spaniard out for it.
In 2022, the team suffered arguably one of its most difficult years. The regulation reset proved to be a tricky concept to master for the workers in Silverstone. Naturally, the opinions regarding Alonso’s move to Aston Martin wasn’t actually uncalled for.
That reaction from Fernando Alonso hearing Lawrence Stroll would like to see both Aston Martin’s on the podium in Canada pic.twitter.com/SW7hYUgPu7
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 15, 2023
Alonso narrated how Lawrence Stroll convinced him to join the team. He told GQ, “I spoke with Lawrence [Stroll, owner of Aston Martin] about the possibility of joining the team after Sebastian Vettel’s [retirement] announcement, and he was very convincing in selling the project and all the new people that were joining.”
While Alonso was looking forward to his time with Aston Martin, he had a drama to handle back at Alpine. His last year with Esteban Ocon was anyway a torrid affair, moreover, he shocked the team by announcing he was actually leaving.
