The best of the rest fight is sometimes even more cutthroat than that of the title. For example, last year the champions Red Bull saw no obstacle in the competition but Alpine and McLaren fought tooth and nail to finish fourth. Teams with limited resources and expertise set realistic targets for themselves, and finishing up ahead of the midfield is equal to winning the title. An ex-F1 driver believes the race in the midfield may see last season’s leaders being dethroned by a team who were not a threat to them before 2023; Aston Martin.

Karun Chandhok, an ex-F1 driver turned pundit, has acknowledged the strides that the Silverstone-based outfit has made in the right direction. From recruiting Dan Fallows, who was earlier a part of the Red Bull camp, to shifting their car to a “Red Bull concept” and even setting up a new factory. The honcho Lawrence Stroll has been leaving no stones unturned to reach the top. While the top seems like a long shot right now as the team finished 7th in constructors’ championship last year, topping the charts in the midfield battle is certainly a realizable goal. This development in the dynamics now puts direct pressure on the two teams that battled it out for the fourth place last year.

Karun Chandhok told Autosport Magazine, “In my opinion, Aston Martin is the mid-table team to look out for. They started the year with a concept and controversially managed to switch to the ‘Red Bull concept’ early in the season.”

He further added, “That’s no small feat. Lawrence Stroll and Martin Whitmarsh have been recruiting aggressively over the past two years and from they should reap the benefits this year as they seemed to be making decent strides in terms of speed towards the end of last season, so they could be a real threat to jump past Alpine and McLaren.”

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While the ingredients to move forward in the teams standings have been cracked by the British team, a key factor cementing them is recruitment of double world champion Fernando Alonso. But can the synergy of the team and Spaniard workout?

Aston Martin’s recruit Fernando Alonso termed “complex character”

The ingenuity of Fernando Alonso is something that the entire F1 world stays in awe of. The hard worker harbors the capability of pushing the team to its ultimate limits. While there is an expectation of fireworks if the shiny green team doesn’t deliver but for now it is the right match for him. Chandhok sheds light on how the Spaniard works.

Karun Chandhok said, “He likes to be in a competitive battle every day. Give him the tools and the support and he delivers at every apex of every corner. His awareness of what is going to happen in a race is incredible. Not only does he think about the strategy, he also tells the team what the five cars around him are going to do in terms of strategy!”

He further added, “But on the other hand, he is a very complex character who likes to be in control of situations.”

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With Fernando Alonso now at a new motoring home, can he claim another title in the coming years??