After finishing fifth in the first qualifying session of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin are targeting a podium for Sunday’s race. Although Ferrari and Red Bull had to admit defeat in qualifying, the team is confident about the race pace.
“We’re looking forward and not backwards,” said team boss Mike Krack after qualifying in Sachir. “We have good race pace and I think we have a good strategy with the tires.”
“We had good starts last year, so we’re looking ahead. In any case, if you start in the points, you have to score points with both cars and then we’ll see how far we can go. We will Definitely attack.”
Alonso: “We are living our dream”
Fernando Alonso is even more euphoric after his fifth place: “It feels so strange for me to say that we start fifth and [im Rennen] aiming for more because, to be honest, we thought the top three teams were untouchable this year.”
“But we’re starting from P5 and maybe we can fight for the podium with the Ferraris. So that’s just incredible. But we’re going to keep our feet on the ground and let’s race the race as best we can: no mistakes, a good start, good stops. And let’s see where we are. But so far we’re living our dream.”
Red Bull fears Aston Martin more than Ferrari
In the long runs on Friday in the second free practice session, only pole setter Max Verstappen was faster than Alonso, which underpins the team’s ambitions. Therefore, Red Bull also expects Aston Martin.
When asked who will be the biggest competitor for victory in the race, motorsport consultant Helmut Marko says: “Well, if we look at the long runs [ansehen, und] we analyzed them of course, then it’s Alonso.”
Why Aston Martin is ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes
Ferrari could do a little worse in race trim for a number of reasons. On the one hand, the pure pace was not convincing either in the test drives or in the long runs on Friday and on the other hand, the Scuderia still has major problems with tire wear.
For Team Principal Mike Krack there is even another reason why his Aston Martin team will beat Ferrari on Sunday. “I think it works [für uns] forward, honestly, because the Ferraris have very small wings,” observed the Luxembourger. “A few cars behind us too and we have our secret weapon there with the long runs and the Fernando.”
In addition, there does not seem to be any competition from behind, because Mercedes was defeated in the race simulations during the tests and also in the second free practice session. Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh, was stunned by Aston Martin’s pace as the Silverstone team sourced some parts from factory Mercedes.
Hamilton: Aston Martin’s pace “not great for us”
“I mean, they pretty much have the whole back of our car, half of our car!” says Hamilton. “So it’s definitely not great for us. But I’m really happy for Aston.”
“It’s amazing the progress they’ve made and the steps they’ve taken,” continued the Briton. “And I’m really happy for Fernando because he’s been here a lot longer than me. And it’s good that he’s back in action. Hopefully we can do some good races.”
“I just have to laugh because aiming for a podium in the first race is once again too good to be true,” adds Alonso when asked about his racing prospects and the high tire wear of the Ferrari SF-23.
“But what we have seen on our car so far and also seen historically from Aston Martin is very good tire management. So we have a chance and we will use it,” said the Spaniard’s declaration of war.
Krack: Finally certainty that the AMR23 is good
The Aston Martin AMR22 was already one of the best midfield cars in terms of race trim last season, but the qualifying pace was always lacking. The trend could continue in 2023, but now you’re much further up in qualifying, which means even more is possible in the race.
“It was good quality,” sums up Krack. “Of course you don’t know where you stand. The whole testing and also the sessions. You calculate up, you calculate down, but you’re never 100 percent sure and I think you can be very satisfied with the way it turned out today.”
“We have decided to make a step compared to last year. And both cars are in Q3, and Fernando is even ahead of the Mercedes. I think you can be satisfied with that. We’ve made a big step forward.”
Why Alonso only drove one lap in Q3
In the third qualifying segment, however, Alonso was only able to drive one timed lap because Aston Martin simply didn’t have a fresh set of tires in their repertoire. “We wanted to play it safe with the Q2,” explains Krack.
“We didn’t want to try anything or be super smart in any way, but to get through the thing solidly because we’re good in the race or at least think we’re good. And so we didn’t want to take any risks because it’s difficult to overtake and then of course you have a problem.”