Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin walked away from the 2023 season opener with a spectacular podium finish after the team converted the hype around their testing and practice performances at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Fifth fastest in qualifying, behind only the Red Bull and Ferrari machines, Alonso used his tenacious racing skill and took advantage of Charles Leclerc’s retirement to move into the top three in Sunday night’s encounter.
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His rise was marked by heart-pounding crashes with Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – a multi-lap battle between the two world champions ending in Alonso’s favor via a clever move into Turn 8.
Once cleared from the W14s, Alonso set his sights on fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz, making a DRS-assisted pass down the backstretch in the closing stages to follow the Red Bull drivers home and spark jubilant scenes in the Aston Martin camp.
Speaking after the race, Alonso said: “It’s a perfect start for this project. We didn’t expect to be so competitive. I think the goal in 2023 was to mingle with the midfield, maybe lead that midfield and eventually get closer to the top three teams.
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“Even a podium might not have been on the radar in 2023, and we ended up with the second best car today in Bahrain, of the whole weekend, just behind Red Bull. a surprise, but we are extremely proud, satisfied with the work done at Silverstone in the factory.
” Congratulations to all. Let’s seize this moment and build from there hopefully a good 2023 campaign, and get closer and closer to the best.
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Asked about Aston Martin’s potential need to revise its targets for the coming season, Alonso continued: “Let’s see. I had the same feeling after the tests, like too good to be true, and you always expect that…you will step back and come back to reality. But it looks real, the performance.
“Let’s see in Jeddah. I’m curious to go to Jeddah and Australia, very different circuits. I think in Bahrain we were strong in things that maybe we don’t find in Jeddah and Australia. If we are strong in the next two races, I think we will have a very good 2023.”
Alonso joined the two Red Bull drivers on the Bahrain Grand Prix podium
As for the crashes with Hamilton and Sainz – which followed a “lucky” escape for Alonso on the opening lap when team-mate Lance Stroll marked him under braking for Turn 4 – the two-time world champion reveled in being back to the pointed end.
“I obviously liked it, because I found myself in front, it’s always the same in any battle. It’s always the same when you fight at the front; with these great pilots, these great champions, it’s a bit more intense, a bit more adrenaline, when you’re wheel to wheel,” he said.
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“I didn’t want to make any mistakes or contact because obviously when you’re P12 you don’t lose anything but today we were fighting for big things. I was happy, the car was fun to drive, that was probably our strength throughout testing and this weekend.
“Even though the race was very long (in) the last 10 laps, because I wanted to see the checkered flag and be on the podium, the car was very good to drive and I could have driven another hour or so. thing like that, all alone on the right track.
Stroll took sixth place in the other Aston Martin, while nursing wrist and foot injuries sustained in a pre-season training crash, to move the team second in the constructors’ standings.