«We didn’t expect to be so competitiveSaid Spaniard Fernando Alonso after his third place on his debut with Aston Martin on Sunday at the Bahrain GP, the inaugural round of the Formula 1 season.
This is your first podium since 2021. How do you feel after your first race in the ranks of Aston Martin?
«This is obviously a perfect start. We didn’t expect to be so competitive. I think the goal in 2023 was to be in the middle of the ranking, maybe leading that middle of the ranking and getting closer to the top three teams eventually. But even a podium might not have been on our radar in 2023. And in the end, you end up being the second best car today in Bahrain – and indeed throughout the weekend.»
What can we expect from Aston Martin for the rest of the season?
«We will see. I have the same feeling as during the pre-season tests (last week, in Bahrain, editor’s note): too good to be true. We always expect (…) to take a step back to come back to reality. But the performance seems very real. We will see in Jeddah (the next GP, in Saudi Arabia, on March 19, editor’s note). I’m curious, as for Australia (the next round, early April, editor’s note). They are very different circuits.»