Fernando Alonso has absolutely no regrets leaving French Formula 1 team Alpine at the end of last season to join the ranks of Aston Martin in 2023.
• Also read: Formula 1: Here is Lance Stroll’s car for the 2023 season
• Also read: Lance Stroll’s cars in pictures
On the contrary, the veteran Spanish driver sees brilliant potential in this organization, run by Montreal billionaire Lawrence Stroll, which will allow him to complete a brilliant career that he began in 2001 in the premier class of motorsport.
Accompanied by teammate Lance Stroll, Alonso attended a press conference on Monday morning before unveiling the team’s new AMR23 single-seater a few hours later. Not surprisingly, the most experienced F1 driver on the grid was the target of most journalists’ questions, to which he answered bluntly.
“The Aston Martin project is certainly ambitious. The goal this year is to get closer to the top teams [Red Bull, Ferrari et Mercedes], although there is still a significant gap to be filled. Our goal is to build on a solid foundation for the coming years,” he explains.
“This team, he added, wants to show they can move forward quickly. There are no shortcuts in F1. It requires big investments and talents that we have. I’m not 20 anymore and my time isn’t unlimited. So I’ll do whatever it takes to help this promising team reach the highest peaks.
“You also have to understand that there are no miracles in Formula 1. But if I’ve accepted the offer from Aston Martin, it’s like there’s a will to succeed within that organization,” he continued.
A new modern factory
To support its intentions, Aston Martin has invested astronomical sums to acquire new, state-of-the-art facilities (built near the legendary Silverstone circuit in England), which will be officially inaugurated in the coming months. A building dedicated to a state-of-the-art wind tunnel is attached to the factory.
“We only celebrate when we win. This team doesn’t just get fourth, third, or second. I want to be part of the solution. And yes, I believe in my chances of winning races and, who knows, a third championship. On the other hand, we have to be realistic, it won’t happen this year,” said Alonso.
Despite this wave of enthusiasm, Alonso expects a complicated start.
“It will probably be very tough in the first five or six races. But if everything goes well, we want to fight for a podium in the second part of the calendar. We will then have to seize the opportunities that present themselves to us,” says Alonso.
Very little preparation
The 41-year-old driver, who holds the record for Grand Prix starts with 356 (six more than Kimi Raikkonen), pointed out that Formula 1 is the only sport on the planet that only offers a day and a half of practice before taking on the first race can contest a world championship.
He’s right. The ten teams can only benefit from three days of private testing – in Bahrain from February 23-25 - before the season kicks off the following week at the same venue. Teams are only entitled to one single seater, which must be shared between the two teammates.
“And I don’t just have to discover the car, but also my new working environment,” he concludes.