Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team. 23.11.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 23, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, Preparation Day.
Fernando Alonso believes his performance throughout an “unthinkable” 2023 campaign for Aston Martin ranks alongside 2012 as his greatest season in Formula 1.
The Spaniard has enjoyed a positive debut season with the Aston Martin team, accumulating eight podiums to surpass the 200-point mark for the first time since 2013.
Despite the Silverstone squad losing the early momentum that saw it record six top-three finishes in the first eight races, Alonso’s consistency and a further two podiums since the summer break have left him in the battle for fourth place in the Drivers’ standings.
Alonso has therefore labelled his 2023 season as the best of his entire F1 career along with 2012, when he came within three points of the title in a Ferrari F2012 car that lacked the outright speed of its competitors.
“I’m happy with the personal performance,” Alonso said ahead of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “I think together with 2012 is the best season for me personally.
“I rate the best season in my driving and I was happy with everything. I was motivated, I was fit, I was performing in difficult conditions sometimes.”
Aside from his podium exploits, the two-time champion includes a ninth-place at Monza as one of his finest drives of 2023 due to Aston Martin’s struggles that weekend.
“Bahrain, Monaco, Canada, Monza and Brazil would be my top five [races] of the year,” he continued.
“I put Monza on purpose because it was a ninth place. It was not a podium, it was nothing that people will remember, but probably we had the slowest car in Monza or the second slowest and to be in the points was one of those weekends where everything was very good.”
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team celebrates his second position with the team. 28.05.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 7, Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Race Day. – www.xpbimages.com, EMail: [email protected] © Copyright: Batchelor / XPB Images
Alonso also concedes that a maiden race victory could have been possible for Aston Martin, who missed out at Monaco when the team made the rueful call to pit for dry tyres one lap before the rain intensity increased.
Asked if a win was achievable this year, Alonso answered: “I think it was possible. Probably Monaco was the closest, I guess a tyre call change or something.
“Maybe Zandvoort if we were in a different position in that restart. Probably we had opportunities here and there, but I believe we deserve it [a win] more than anybody else this year.”
While an elusive 33rd F1 win continues to evade his grasp, Alonso has lavished praise on Aston Martin’s season, branding the team’s recovery this year as “unthinkable”.
Having previously recorded a highest finish of seventh, the British marque has already scored 218 more points than it did last year and looks set to classify fifth overall.
“I see only positives, yeah,” he commented. “I think those struggles are part of the job and part of the journey of this team.
“We started really strong with the car that was surprisingly maybe competitive even to us, the step from last year to this year. And we found ourselves maybe in a position where we weren’t ready for it, fighting with Mercedes, Ferrari; top teams they are used to fight at that level.
“We maybe step back a little bit in terms of development also in the car during the season. We are not at the top level yet and we found ourselves a little bit less competitive.
“But all in all, I think it was unthinkable 12 months ago at this stage to think about the campaign we did. I remember perfectly the test last year after the race here with the team. And if someone tell me we would be in the position we are today I would not believe it, so yeah very good.”
Keyword: Alonso ranks ‘unthinkable’ 2023 F1 season his best alongside 2012