Fernando Alonso has criticized the “football” mentality in Formula 1 and said Aston Martin’s season shouldn’t just be judged based on the last race.
Instead, the two-time world champion draws a positive conclusion from his first year with the racing team, to which he moved from Alpine in 2023. “I know that it’s becoming more and more like football here and only the last result seems to count,” says the Spaniard. “But we mustn’t forget where we come from and what this project is about. That’s why I’m very proud of the season so far.”
For Aston Martin, the 2023 Formula 1 season has so far been a season of two halves. In the first races, the team was Red Bull’s first pursuer and, with Alonso, was able to reach the podium six times in the eight races to Canada.
Alonso and Aston Martin are just following behind
Since then, the form seems to have been lost: After the race, the racing team was only able to celebrate a podium finish and was relegated to fifth place in the World Championship. The best result in the last five races was a sixth place for Alonso in Qatar.
Nevertheless, Alonso emphasizes that he does not have the feeling of driving two different halves of the season: “No, I think it was a more consistent feeling and a more consistent season than the results maybe show,” he said at the press conference before the Mexico Grand Prix this weekend.
“We have always found a balance between ups and downs. We have always focused on the performance of the car and tried to improve as a team.”
Alonso emphasizes progress at Aston Martin
Alonso emphasizes the progress that the team has made in the recent past: “Two years ago we had 250 employees. Today we are only a few points behind the top teams in the constructors’ championship and have already achieved several podium places this year,” says he clear.
In addition, the new factory was inaugurated this year and scored around 200 more points than last year. “So it was an incredible 2023 season for Aston Martin,” emphasizes Alonso.
Nevertheless, the racing team is unlikely to improve from fifth place in the World Championship. Although McLaren is within reach with a six-point lead, the racing team is in much better form and has improved significantly towards the middle of the season – also one reason for Aston Martin’s poorer results.
Aston Martin driver Alonso wants to be on the podium again
Meanwhile, Alonso hopes to say goodbye to the winter with a positive feeling. He wants to “finish the remaining races on a high level so that we can at least be on the podium again.”
“I think that we will then go into 2024 much more confident than this year,” said the Spaniard.
They started 2023 with the hope that things would go in the right direction again after a difficult year. “But we learned a lot during the season – also away from the race track, such as the development of the car during the season.”
“So it was a very important championship – not only for the results themselves, but also for the team to develop a competitive mentality for the future,” said Alonso, who emphasized: “It was a very important season and I am very proud and happy.”