Formula 1 2023 Teams Review, Part 2

At first, Aston Martin started off as the clear number two to Red Bull. After one bad decision after another, Fernando Alonso looked like he had finally made a brilliant career move. The team’s peak came at the Monaco Grand Prix, in which Alonso qualified and finished second in a race where they were one bad pit call away from actually taking the lead.

But the thing with peaks is, well, they tend to go down after they pass. Aston Martin ended up doing exactly that.

Alonso scored three more podiums in the year, two second places at the Canadian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix, then a blockbuster third at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix following a duel with Sergio Perez. But new upgrades set the team back compared to their rivals, and they couldn’t figure out why exactly they weren’t working. Only taking them off in the last few races led to decent results to end the year.

The driver difference was very dramatic. Alonso proved he is still one of the very best the sport can offer at age 42, while Lance Stroll struggled mightily. At one point, Stroll failed to score any points in almost three months. He was able to save face with a pair of fifth-place runs late in the season, but by that time, he had been pretty thoroughly exposed.

Entering a contract year and one in which he will turn 43 in July, there will be a lot of eyes to see if Alonso will show any signs of regression. If they can start fast next year and properly upgrade the car, Alonso has a shot at maybe getting that 33rd win.

But big questions will also need to be answered sooner rather than later on how viable Stroll is as an F1 driver. His underperformance throughout the season cost the team at least fourth in constructor points, something unacceptable for any driver whose dad doesn’t own the team.

4th: McLaren Mercedes

Podiums: Nine

McLaren was the opposite side of Aston Martin on the car development coin.

The papaya team rolled out a joke of a car in pre-season testing. In my testing ranking way…