The 2023 season has started on a weirdly optimistic note for Formula 1 fans. Even though at the Bahrain Grand Prix we saw the scary Red Bull domination that possibly awaits us, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin have come as unlikely messiahs to save all F1 fans some boredom. The Silverstone-based team has turned things around massively since last year and now stands on the cusp of being the second-fastest team behind the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.

That being said, what’s even more exciting for the fans is the prospect of seeing 42-year-old Fernando Alonso prospectively fighting for his 3rd title with the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Alonso’s brilliant P3 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix has done a good job of catapulting ‘El Pan‘ to stardom, and now the fans eagerly await the Saudi Arabian GP to be run this week to finally put the stamp on the Spaniard’s title ambitions this year.

Be that as it may, if anyone watching was with the hopes of seeing Alonso challenge for the mantle of the greatest ever by trying to emulate Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton with 7 titles, his TV presenter girlfriend, Andrea Schlager, has recently dashed those hopes.

She told ServusTV, “He currently has a two-year contract and it will most likely be the last. The whole winter consisted of gym, tennis, skiing. It was impressive how he went full throttle.” Interestingly, Alonso had himself said earlier that he had no “concerns,” about his age or the fact he would retire soon.

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Alonso has high hopes for his Aston Martin career. But what can 2023 bring for the Spaniard?

Fernando Alonso is in with a good chance to trump the title contenders in 2023

If Schlager’s testimony is anything to go by, we may never see Alonso fight till he gets clear of the benchmark set by Hamilton and Schumacher. But in all fairness, the 42-year-old racing ace is still in with a pretty good chance to add to his championship tally in 2023.

His girlfriend told Sky Sports F1’s podcast, “I think Fernando might just trump them in the sense that he’s so much more mature. He’s been in it for so long. I think even last year, we could see it in the Alpine and that there were moments that he was just extracting the absolute maximum out of their car.”

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Where do you think Fernando Alonso will finish in the Driver’s standings at the end of this year?