Ever since the start of the 2023 season, Aston Martin has emerged as the frontrunner to challenge Red Bull’s dominance. Spearheading that offense is the most experienced campaigner on the grid, Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard consistently finished ahead of his rival of the yesteryear, Lewis Hamilton. However, the Briton’s P2 finish ahead of him marked the start of a possible resurgence for the Silver Arrows.
As F1 is currently going through 4-week hiatus owing to the cancellation of the Chinese GP, teams are preparing to field their first amendments to their cars. That Alonso, is not a fan of, as it gives rivals a chance of gaining a significant advantage over his team.
Hamilton started out in F1 as Fernando’s teammate at McLaren in 2007. That year, the duo did not get along and ended up finishing the season with the same amount of points, one short of champion Kimi Raikkonen. Ever since then, the Oviedo man has kept an eye on him, even when Hamilton wasn’t competitive enough to challenge him. That paranoia continues to this day.
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When asked whether he was a fan of the ongoing long break, Motorsport-Magazin quoted Fernando as saying, “No, I would have preferred to continue racing.” [Translated using Google]
It soon became clear why the senior Aston driver was upset with the break when team principal Mike Krack told, “Now it’s a development race. We are fighting with people who have far more firepower than we have. In terms of personnel, infrastructure and experience.”
Ferrari has, until now, been a giant disappointment. Reliability issues and some other unlucky results have kept the Maranello-based team out of the competition. However, the break has rejuvenated Charles Leclerc’s hunger for wins once again.
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Charles Leclerc fires a warning shot at rivals, promising a Ferrari comeback
While reliability issues have once again plagued Ferrari’s campaign, the pace hasn’t been any impressive. However, there are some concepts unique to their car, like their side pod design, that continue to impress. Despite that, the Italian giants are planning on revamping their cars with the ultimate goal of replicating Red Bull. While that isn’t something that Tifosi is looking forward to, Leclerc certainly feels his team is ready for a comeback.
He told, “We will work as much as possible to bring updates as soon as possible and to be competitive as soon as possible this season.”
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Watch This Story: How Many Times Has Fernando Alonso Won in F1
The circus resumes in Baku towards the end of this month. Which team will end up improving the most over the break until then? Drop in your predictions in the comments.