Mission 33 is on! And so is Mission #3! The Aston Martin hype train isn’t stopping at any of the destinations this year! With podiums in four out of five rounds, Fernando Alonso and the team are on a roll after a disastrous season last year. For them, the first goal in sight is to get the Spaniard his 33rd win and then work on building an even better car and closing the gap to Red Bull so that the two-time world champion can challenge for the third.

Fernando Alonso has marked his presence well in the team. The team has all its trust in the driver, and his seniority, experience, and nonchalant attitude have helped. With glimpses of F1 mastery sprinkled over the past two weekends, the team’s trust in him has been reinforced further. Mike Krack, the Aston Martin team principal, now more than ever believes Alonso can claim a championship if they manage to deliver a car that can win him races.

“We would have to go one step further, because Red Bull is very strong, but if we give him a car to fight for the title, he can be world champion. It’s about motivation, and it’s intact in Fernando’s case,” Krack said about Alonso, as quoted by Soy Motor.

He further added his belief that the astronomical start to the season that has now made the Silverstone-based squad the second-fastest wasn’t dreamed of. He said, “We knew we had taken a big step forward in the winter, but being on the podium four times in the first five races is something I didn’t expect.“

READ MORE: Fernando Alonso Gets a Fresh Boost of Hope for His 3rd WDC From Aston Martin’s Mastermind: “Don’t Want to Be Any Less…”

While the third championship might not be on the horizon for now, Alonso certainly aims for his 33rd win. Many experts believe that if he manages to grab the pole in Monaco, there’s no stopping him.

Fernando Alonso has been given a major boost

The main trouble for Aston Martin since the start of the season has been its inefficient and erroneous DRS. They had to deal with it in Baku and the weekends before, but Miami was a complete game-changer for them. After being accused of copying the Red Bull car, Aston Martin allegedly used their rear wing design too.

Now, the efficiency has increased and is on par with Red Bull. As reported, “At Aston, great levels of efficiency were found with DRS open in Miami , with the AMR23 having a speed delta very similar to the Red Bull values (11.42% versus 11.30% efficiency with DRS open).” This means that the delta to Red Bull, which stood as low as -2.26% in Baku, was +0.12 in Miami.

WATCH THIS STORY: Does Fernando Alonso Believe He Can Be a 3-time World Champion?

Clearly, the upgrades planned by the team worked to give a major boost to Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. It could play a pivotal role in the team’s performance in the coming rounds on the fast-paced tracks.