Aston Martin’s climb to the top of Formula 1, or thereabouts, has been nothing short of sensational. When the team announced its entry into the sport back in 2021, everyone had high hopes. This was solely because of the big bucks that Lawrence Stroll had promised to bring. However, the reality was a bit different. But with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of the AMR23, the Silverstone-based team is going from strength to strength.
Now that the team is fighting with the upper echelons of the grid, the main question that beckons is whether the team has what it takes to sustain the challenge. Being a predominantly midfield challenger in the past, the team does lack experience. But what it lacks in that department, it hopes to compensate that with the massive financial backing, it can boast of.
Aston Martin has big plans for 2023
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With the season well underway, the pecking order has somewhat normalized. Currently, Aston Martin has given Alonso arguably the second or third-fastest car. But as the season will progress, the race will shift from on the track to one massive developmental race. But team principal, Mike Krack, isn’t fazed by this.
He told Motorsport.com, “Although we haven’t brought in anything that could be called a real update yet, we continue to learn a lot about the AMR23. We’re trying to identify our strengths and weaknesses, where we need to improve and where we need to focus.”
“We will take the most important steps during the year. We will have some new parts in Baku, Imola, Montréal and Silverstone, but instead of waiting and packing everything into big packages, we will try to take every small step as soon as it is ready.”
A lot has been made of Aston Martin’s meteoric rise. But Alonso has a fitting response.
Fernando Alonso rubbishes copying claims
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As soon as Aston Martin showed up in Bahrain, a lot was said about the AMR23’s resemblance to the RB19. However, when F1 rocked up to Saudi Arabia, and Alonso came good once again, he was quick to shut all the allegations down.
“No more three Red Bulls on the podium, if Checo was here. But no, I think Mercedes were also strong in Jeddah, to be honest. I think all race on Sunday, I was within one-tenth of George [Russell], you know, fighting to get this extra five seconds or whatever at the end. So it was very, very close,” remarked Alonso.
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What do you think about Aston Martin’s chances this season?