When the season started, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez exchanged wins between themselves and secured 1-2 finishes. Everyone thought an intra-team title fight was back. But 8 races into the season and a few underwhelming performances later, holding on to second in the Drivers’ Championship for Sergio Perez seems like a huge ask. And who’s coming for his place? Fernando Alonso.

After finishing second in the Canadian GP, just 9.5 seconds behind Verstappen, Fernando Alonso has 9 points between him and Perez in the championship. When asked in a post-race interview if he could beat Checo this season, all he said was “Yes.” But while catching Perez is the short-term goal, catching Verstappen is what everyone including Fernando is aiming for.

Fernando Alonso & Co. are ready with more new upgrades

Since the season started, the fight for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship has been between Aston Martin and Mercedes, with Red Bull in a league of its own at the front of the pack. Alongside the race for P2, Aston & Mercedes have also been in a race for upgrades. Until the Spanish GP, Aston Martin looked like the second-best car. But after Mercedes’ upgrades in Barcelona, the balance shifted to its side. Aston worked towards coming back stronger in line with Fernando’s “Crush them” claim. And crush they did!

With its new upgrades for the Canadian GP, Alonso held off Lewis Hamilton to take P2 in the race behind Verstappen. But his return to the podium wasn’t the only thing the Silverstone outfit had to celebrate. For the first time this season, a car finished as close to the Red Bull under normal racing conditions as Aston did in Montreal. Although the 9.5-second gap was partially due to the Safety Car during the race, it was also because of the Aston’s performance and Red Bull’s lack thereof. 

As part of its next step in the master plan to catch Red Bull and further close the gap, Aston will introduce another set of upgrades at its home race in Silverstone. As per reports, as stated by formu1a.uno, “According to the German outlet AMuS, simulator data from the Aston Martin factory suggests the AMR23 will soon be a match for Red Bull’s RB19.” Whether or not it’ll be a match for Red Bull soon, it sure is a match and more for Mercedes.

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The Canadian GP weekend wasn’t straightforward by any means. Technical problems on the track on Friday reduced running time, and rain on Saturday didn’t give teams a chance to understand their cars under race conditions fully. Despite Aston Martin’s limited understanding of its new upgrades, it closed the gap with Red Bull. The Silverstone outfit will aim to maximize its upgrades at Spielberg in the upcoming Austrian GP.

After surviving “hell” from Lewis Hamilton, can Alonso Repeat the Feat in Austria?

After qualifying at the Canadian GP, Hamilton—who qualified one place behind Alonso—said he’ll try to stick with Alonso and give him hell throughout the race. They both already knew that Verstappen in front would leave the pack behind, so trying to beat each other was their primary goal. When the race started, Hamilton overtook Alonso going into Turn 1 and stayed in front for quite some time, with Alonso hot on his heels.

After 22 laps of staying behind Hamilton, Alonso finally retook his second place, but Hamilton was determined to fulfill his promise of giving Alonso hell. Until the last lap, Alonso had to stay at the top of his game to keep Hamilton behind. In the post-race interview, he said the race was like 70 laps of qualifying with Hamilton chasing him.

Do you think Aston Martin’s upgrades will work better in Austria, and will it bring down the gap even more than in Montreal? And will it be able to catch up to Red Bull before the end of the season?

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