Fernando Alonso says that Aston Martin’s unexpected strong form at the start of the 2023 season is leaving it without feeling any pressure on race day.
In 2022, the Silverstone-based squad ended the campaign seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.
It recruited Alonso to partner Lance Stroll after four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel opted to retire from the sport.
In the opening five rounds this year, Alonso has scored four podium finishes and the team is currently sitting second in the standings.
It has consistently been able to challenge towards the front of the field against Ferrari and Mercedes, while Red Bull has dominated en route to five consecutive grand prix wins.
”It will change I think track to track, depending on the characteristics but within one-tenth up and down [between Aston Martin and its rivals],” Alonso said.
“I heard that Mercedes and Ferrari, they will bring big things to Imola.”
But having exceeded its expectations already, Alonso says that Aston Martin is not feeling any pressure to bring home top-three finishes every weekend.
“We have scheduled some upgrades that you will see from time to time in the year, but I don’t know, for us it’s just a gift, where we are,” he said.
“We didn’t expect to be in this position. So we just race every Sunday calmly, without pressure, and if we can still outscore them on Sunday, that’s good news.
“If we can’t, because we cannot follow their progress that they are making, we will prepare for 2024 for the best way possible. But we are growing as a team.
“We are in a position that we didn’t expect with a very fast car. And we are trying to make the team strong in all the other areas where we are still not maybe at the highest level.”
