Fernando Alonso has commended Aston Martin for its leap forward in pace for the 2023 season, stating its the biggest jump he’s seen from a single team without a change in the regulations.
Aston Martin has started the 2023 campaign in strong fashion and currently sit second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Alonso has scored back-to-back podiums at the opening two rounds of the year, marking his most successful start to a season since 2012.
Last year, Aston Martin ended the Constructors’ Championship seventh in the order, tied on points with Alfa Romeo.
When asked if it was the best year-on-year improvement he’s seen, Alonso said: “Ferrari, in 2021 they were very bad.
“And then last year they were fighting for the championship, or they won two of the first grands prix of the year.
“Ferrari made a huge step last year, Brawn GP obviously [in 2009].
“[But] non-regulation change, it [Aston Martin] is probably the biggest one. All of the others, they were with a regulation change.
“But this one is with the same regulations, plus the cost cap. So it is very difficult to do something like that. We have very talented people in the team. So far it has been a good start, and hopefully only the start.”
Alonso joined Aston Martin after two years with Alpine, while there are also several other new arrivals in the design team at the Silverstone-based squad.
Despite its strong start to the year, Alonso says that Aston Martin still needs to adjust itself to compete at a high level.
“We’ve been just fine tuning a few things in the way that we prefer the race, the way we approach the weekend, meeting-wise, timing , presentation, focus on the important points,” he said.
“Things that you work with your engineers [on] and with the performance team on the weekend, but also the factory.
“Simulator work, we have Stoffel [Vandoorne], we have Felipe [Drugovich] in the simulator. We try to be aligned on the things that we wish.
“It’s very easy to get lost on the performance of the car, on the development when the simulator drivers ask for a few things that the race driver are not asking when the real car on track.
“Those kind of things we will try to work on over the winter. I think I’m happy with how things are going. But there’s still more things to come.
“Obviously it’s only two or three months in this project and lots of people are new in team, in the technical department, in the design office, at the race weekends. So more things to come.”
