Formula 1

Surprising Performance: Aston Martin Challenges F1 Giants in Bahrain GP with Podium in Sight

Published

3 weeks ago

05/03/2023

Aston Martin has caused a stir in the F1 world, challenging teams that were once thought to be untouchable during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. Fernando Alonso, who secured fifth place in qualifying, described the entire experience as surreal, with the team exceeding expectations and potentially landing on the podium for the season opener.

Fernando Alonso has described the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend as surreal, as it saw Formula 1 teams who were previously considered untouchable, being challenged. This has resulted in Aston Martin feeling like they are living a dream.

According to Alonso, the best is yet to come for his team, as they face the reality of potentially landing on the podium in the 2023 F1 season opener. While they were unable to secure the pole position during practice, the team’s performance has exceeded expectations, with the Aston Martin proving to be faster than Mercedes and a significant threat to Ferrari, although it may not quite match up to Red Bull.

Alonso acknowledged that qualifying fifth was a great achievement for the team, even though some had hoped for a better outcome. He described the entire weekend as unreal, with every session and performance of the car exceeding expectations. The team had expected to be half a second behind Red Bull in qualifying, so their result was on par with their expectations.

Alonso expressed his surprise at the team’s progress, as the project was only a bet eight months ago. Despite having a completely new car and a lot of untapped potential, they were able to compete with Ferrari and Mercedes and secure a top-five position, which he found a little bit surreal.

While Alonso’s impressive performance in FP2 was encouraging, the team knew that the outright pace of the AMR23 was likely to be behind Red Bull and possibly Ferrari too.

Aston Martin’s strength in testing and Friday practice in Bahrain was their long-run pace. Consequently, Fernando Alonso has been identified as a podium challenger by almost everyone around him. Even Mercedes driver George Russell acknowledged that Alonso was more of a dark horse than Ferrari.

Initially, Alonso played down his chances during testing and the beginning of the event. However, now he admits that qualifying has demonstrated the team’s true potential. With a real chance of achieving an outstanding outcome, Alonso is starting to believe that his dream of landing on the podium could become a reality.

Alonso expressed his surprise that the team has been able to challenge the top three teams, who were considered untouchable due to their advantage last year.

The team’s initial goal was to lead the midfield or mix in with the midfield, but now they find themselves in P5 and potentially fighting with the Ferraris for a podium finish, which he finds incredible.

Alonso acknowledges that the team needs to keep working hard, stay grounded, and execute the race flawlessly with no mistakes, good starts, and pit stops to see where they end up. However, he believes that they are currently living a dream and that a podium finish could become a reality.

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is familiar with the Aston Martin team and their historical approach to races, where they prioritize Sunday over Saturday, and he anticipates a strong performance from them in the grand prix.

Ferrari is also aware that Aston Martin seems to have better tyre degradation than their own team.

Alonso chuckled after qualifying, saying that aiming for a podium finish in race one felt too good to be true. However, based on their car’s performance so far and Aston Martin’s history of excellent tyre management, there is a real possibility of success. If an opportunity arises, Alonso and his team will do everything they can to take advantage of it.

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