Alonso: Aston Martin didn’t think they would fight Mercedes, Ferrari

Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin found themselves in a position where they were fighting against Mercedes and Ferrari where they didn’t think so.

How Aston Martin ended the 2022 F1 season, the team fighting for podiums from the onset of 2023 season was unexpected. They had wind tunnel time on rivals but still many did not expect them to race with Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.

Although the team slowed down as the season progressed where McLaren overtook them, but they were still better than others and also finished better than how they did in 2022. That’s why Alonso sees positives from the 2023 F1 season.

He notes that what they achieved was unthinkable 12 months ago. “I see only positives,” said Alonso to media. “Those struggles are part of the job and I’m part of the journey of this team. I think we started really strong with the car that it was surprisingly competitive, even to us with the step from last year to this year.

“We found ourselves maybe in a position that we were not ready for, fighting with Mercedes, Ferrari, the top teams who they are used to fighting at that level. We maybe stepped back a little bit in terms of development also in the car during the season, we are not at the top level yet. And we found ourselves a little bit less competitive.

“But all in all, I think it was unthinkable 12 months ago, at this stage to think about the campaign we did, I remember perfectly the test last year after the race in Abu Dhabi with the team. If someone told me that we would be in this position that we are today, I would not believe it, so very good,” summed up Alonso.