Fernando Alonso: "I would be happy if I am halfway through the season where I was last year with Alpine and with more reliability"

MADRID, 14 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is clear that his new team, Aston Martin, "is not going to win races or the championship" in 2023, a year in which he would already be "happy" if in the middle of the season he is "where he was last year with Alpine and with more reliability", and does not hide his satisfaction for having chosen a place where there is "the ambition to be great".

"I would be happy in the middle of the season behind the three 'big', I suppose. Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have a lot of advantage and they practically doubled the seventh. McLaren and Alpine had a good year, but without the 'safety car' they doubled us I would be happy if I occupy fourth place (after the 'big ones') or where I was with Alpine last year and with more reliability", Alonso confessed in an exclusive interview with 'DAZN' before the presentation this Monday of 'AMR23'.

In this sense, it is clear to him that he can only think of ambitious things "in the medium term". "In F-1, the short term is only within the reach of those who won last year. Aston Martin is not going to win races or the championship this year, but we are going to lay the foundations to try to shorten the path," he warned. .

The Oviedo insisted that they are "very excited" with their new team and that they have had "good months" since the end of 2022 in Abu Dhabi. "I have been able to prepare physically, see a bit of the evolution of the car, be at the factory and in the simulator. You can feel the energy and enthusiasm within the team," he admitted.

The two-time F-1 world champion was optimistic about "that first Aston Martin" designed "under the direction" Dan Fallows and Eric Blandin, "two great signings". "I'm already looking forward to it starting and putting myself at the controls," he remarked.

Alonso was attracted to the British team "a bit by the ambition it showed". "He had a new factory, big signings, the budget, the sponsors. He had the ambition to be big and that was tempting when his offer came to me. I couldn't be happier with my choice," he was honest.

"I still have to learn a lot of things and the team still has to take steps little by little to be great, but I am somewhat certain that sooner or later it will be able to win races and fight for great things, and I want to contribute my grain of sand so that the path is as short as possible", added the Spaniard.

He pointed out that in the team they have "the expectation" that he can bring them "his great experience." "They want me to take on that leadership role in the development of the car a bit and that too is tempting and exciting, plus extra pressure," he stressed.

Alonso has already met "a part" of the team he has met and that "is in the process of becoming a big one." "It started with 350 workers when it was Force India and now it has more than 800, they are beginning a path to be a big team and I can guide them in what things are more or less efficient or also in the work in the simulator", stressed the veteran pilot , who also spoke of "several parallel projects that cannot be counted but are fun".

The man from Oviedo also knew "the forms and philosophy" of an 'AMR23' that "is the real car" that they are going to present and not "a model or the one from last year with stickers" as other teams have been able to do. "I understand that they want to give something to the fans," he admitted.

Regarding his teammate, the Canadian Lance Stroll, he recalled that "he is very young, but he has already been in F-1 for several years." "He is very talented, especially in rainy conditions. I have known him since 2012 when he was at the Ferrari Academy. Between the two of us we will try to help Aston Martin", he pointed out, "delighted" to also have Pedro Martínez de la Rosa close, that he will have the role of ambassador, but that he has "a lot of experience" and can also "contribute his grain of sand to the project".

"In the best", he replied when asked about what stage he was in as a pilot. "I hate losing to anything. In motorsport only one wins and that's what drives me to try. Also, Aston Martin is an iconic brand in motorsport and automotive, and you feel a bit of pride," he said. the Spanish pilot.