All of Aston Martin’s investment and hard work paid off in Bahrain, with Fernando Alonso finishing third to secure the team’s second podium in F1.
Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll came home in P6, proving that this performance was no fluke by Alonso and that Aston Martin are a genuine force to be reckoned with this season.
The team have been poaching staff from the big teams in recent years and former head of aerodynamics at Red Bull Dan Fallows has had a significant impact on the design of the AMR23.
The AMR23 strongly resembles the RB18, a car which Fallows helped to design during his time with Red Bull, making his knowledge of what makes a successful car incredibly valuable to Aston Martin.
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While Aston Martin certainly looked to be the second fastest team in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso has warned the team not to get ahead of themselves after only a single race.
The Spaniard has explained that the next two rounds in Saudi Arabia and Australia will present very different challenges to the team, which could give a better representation of Aston Martin’s potential this year.
“Let’s see. I have the same feeling from testing, like it’s too good to be true and you’re always expecting that something will take you a step back and you will get back to reality,” said Alonso when asked for his revised 2023 expectations.
“But the performance seems real, so let’s see in Jeddah. I am curious to go to Jeddah and Australia.
“They are very different circuits, high-speed corners, very little degradation. In Bahrain, we were strong in areas maybe we don’t find in Jeddah and Australia.
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“So if we are strong in the next two races, I think we will have a very good 2023.”
With Ferrari still struggling with reliability issues and Mercedes significantly off the pace once again this year, second place in the constructors’ championship could be there for the taking for Aston Martin.
The team are also expected to heavily develop the AMR23 this year, as they target the highest finish possible this season.