Aston Martin a year ahead of Alonso’s expectations

After scoring just 55 points on their way to finishing seventh in the constructors’ championship during a disappointing 2022 campaign, Aston Martin have enjoyed a dream to start to 2023 and have vaulted into second place after the opening three races. 

Alonso has finished on the podium in each of his first three races for his new team following his winter move from midfield rivals Alpine and finds himself sitting an unexpected third in the drivers’ championship behind the two Red Bull drivers. 

Aston Martin’s much-improved AMR23 has already exceeded the two-time world champion’s expectations for his maiden season with the Silverstone-based team. 

"I was hoping 2023 to be a learning season and in 2024 maybe to be challenging Ferrari and Mercedes and things like that," Alonso said in Melbourne. 

"But we challenged them in Bahrain in race one so obviously now everything looks more optimistic.”

However, Alonso stressed that Aston Martin will have their work cut out to maintain their current level of competitiveness amid a development war that is expected to ramp up at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

"Now we have to deliver. This is something we will see very soon," the 41-year-old Spaniard explained. 

"From Baku, Imola, Barcelona, the teams will start to bring upgrades to the car and we need to also be a top team in that regard. 

“On-track, but also off-track we need to learn many things throughout this season to be a contender in 2024 hopefully.”

Speaking in an interview for Aston Martin’s website, sporting director Andy Stevenson underlined the team’s lofty long-term ambitions under billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll. 

“Winning a few races is not what I'm here for and neither is anyone else in the team,” he said. “We’re here to win the world championship - that's the long-term goal.

“It's taken a lot of hard work to get to where we are now, but we can't rest on our laurels. The days of punching above our weight and saying that finishing fourth or fifth is good enough are over.”