Red Bull’s demolition of the opposition in the first race of the 2023 Formula 1 season left many wondering whether anyone will stop them this year.
After Max Verstappen won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix almost 40 seconds ahead of the closest driver not in a Red Bull RB19, a disconsolate George Russell said the world champions are quick enough to win every race this season.
But the first race of the year also confirmed the remarkable progress made by Aston Martin. The team’s new hiring Fernando Alonso delivered on their pre-season promise by following the Red Bull pair home in third place.
Before the weekend began Alonso said his team believed its new AMR23 already offered superior performance to its predecessor and should have greater potential for further development during the year.
“With this car, the aim was to make a step forward, which I think we did,” said the two-times world champion on Thursday. “It was very encouraging, the results from the test and the feeling from the car.
“But this is just the start. This car will change dramatically during the season. That’s the plan. I heard from the team that two-thirds from this car will change during the season.”
However he did not expect the car would prove immediately competitive with the front-runners. “We want to have a good baseline, a good platform to develop the car during 2023 and maybe fight for something bigger next year. But, step-by-step.”
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However three days later, after overcoming the Mercedes and Ferraris to third place, Alonso sounded more confident, admitting the team were in an even better position than they predicted.
“Obviously it’s a perfect start for this project,” the 41-year-old beamed in the post-race press conference. “We didn’t expect to be that competitive.
“I think the aim in 2023 was getting the mix in the midfield, maybe leading that midfield and get close to the top three teams eventually. But even a podium maybe was not in the radar in 2023.
“We found ourselves the second best car today in Bahrain, or the whole weekend, like just behind Red Bull. So this is a little bit of a surprise.”
Aston Martin have surprised themselves already with the performance they have shown this year. Could they end up strong enough to rival Red Bull? And what potential for improvement is there in the new combination of the rapidly expanding Aston Martin team…
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