In the 1 Formula 2023 season, Aston Martin, initially full of hope with the arrival of Fernando Alonso, had to deal with a downward spiral that took the team from the dream of competing at the top to the anger of disappointing results . The team, which had shown superiority at the beginning of the season, gradually slipped down the constructors' ranking, also overtaken by McLaren, which, paradoxically, was able to rediscover its best form during the period of Aston Martin's collapse. The goal of victory is no longer within Aston Martin's reach, which, as Fernando Alonso admits, will now also have to deal with a series of overtaking in the drivers' standings.
Fernando Alonso's bet, yet another hole in the water?
August 2022, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso announces to everyone that he is saying goodbye to Alpine and that the next chapter of his long career in Formula 1 will be in Aston Martin. There's a lot of skepticism in the air and that's because the team at Lawrence stroll in the two years he has not collected positive results. Far from fighting for points, very far from fighting for the podium or victory. The road to returning to success is long and Fernando is now over 41 years of age.
In March, however, all the gossip, all the theories cease when the AMR23 takes to the track and proves to be the second most competitive car behind the Red Bull of Verstappen and Perez. 6 podiums in the first 8 races of the season, 7 in the first 13. Even at Fanta F1, Fernando's podiums have led more and more Fantamanagers to choose him.
Maybe Fernando was right? After bitter disappointments, has he perhaps once found the right path by arriving in the right place at the right time? Apparently, at the beginning we all thought of a positive turning point in Fernando's career, which had reached its final stages. Also hoping that this would allow him to stay on track for a few more years, aiming for some victories and why not also the third world title. But the dream did not last long. In the second part of the season Aston Martin suffered a collapse. At the same time, McLaren moved up the rankings, securing fourth place in the constructors' rankings. Also thanks to an enviable driver duo, made up of Piastri and Norris. Aston Martin, on the other hand, has never been able to get both of its drivers on the podium. Stroll's performances were disappointing before and still are, with the aggravating circumstance of now having a less competitive car.
The words of Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso showed himself resigned to the current situation. “Honestly, we will not fight for any goal in the final three races,” Alonso told foreign media. Despite his and the team's efforts in trying to resolve the car's problems, disappointing results in Mexico, where both drivers retired due to technical problems and contacts, contributed to the general frustration.
“In the Constructors' World Championship we are stuck in fifth place, in the Drivers' World Championship we will lose a couple of positions. It's incredible that we are ahead of the Ferraris (actually Carlos Sainz is already ahead, ed.), Russell and Norris, but we will lose these positions, because they have a very fast car." Norris is the closest, -14 behind Alonso, while Leclerc is at -17, and Russell at -32.
Despite the difficulties, Alonso tried to maintain a positive attitude and underlined the importance of learning from difficulties. However, Aston Martin now finds itself fighting for lower positions in the standings, while McLaren continues to improve and compete with the teams at the top.
“Let's see what we can do, we are working as much as possible. We are not happy with the current situation, but sometimes you learn more from difficulties than from celebrations." he concluded. “We are trying to do as much testing as possible and give as much feedback as possible to the factory at Silverstone. We still have to go to three circuits, which will give us even more data on the car. I don't think we can finish on the podium in these races, but I think we still have a chance to end the year competitively."
What does the future hold?
Meanwhile, there is a lot of talk in the paddock about Alonso's future. There are those who say he is close to retiring precisely because of Aston Martin's failure, while those who believe that his name is among those candidates to replace Sergio Perez in Red Bull. Ultimately, the 2023 season has been an emotional roller coaster for Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso, going from the initial competitive spirit to the disappointment of underperformance. It remains to be seen whether the team will be able to make up ground in the final races of the season and close the year with its head held high, but one thing is certain: the dream of fighting for the top, at least for this season finale, seems to have been archived.
