AUGUST 15, 2023

Q&A with Fernando Alonso

"IT HAS BEEN A DREAM START FOR US!"

Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin were the surprise package of the first six Grand Prix of the season, the Spaniard standing on the podium in five occasions and taking the battle for second place in the drivers' championship to Red Bull's number two driver, Sérgio Pérez. However, once Mercedes, Ferrari and now McLaren introduced big new packages in their cars, the AMR23 has slipped down the order and in Budapest, for example, it was only the fifth quickest car in the field, too far behind to fight with its direct competitors.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard insists the first half of the 2023 World Champion has surpassed his and his team's expectations and vows to continue to fight to come back to the front of the field and, eventually, score that elusive 33rd Grand Prix win the whole of Spain seems to be desperately hoping for.

Q: More recently you had a couple of disappointed weekends, but in Belgium you finished ahead of one Mercedes, and the sole surviving McLarens, so is there some satisfaction that things are coming back in the right direction?

Alonso: I think so. I think the car felt fast on race day in Spa, the guys did an incredible job again on the strategy, also on the pit stops. We made a few places also in the Sprint, even if we didn't finish the race but it was on Sunday, in full dry conditions, the car felt more normal. Yes, we had few thoughts after Hungary after Silverstone, the team was making few set-up changes also to the car, it felt more normal, more competitive. So, I'm happy and the fifth place in Spa is a good boost before the summer break.

Q: Are you surprised the team is struggling a bit now?

Alonso: Yes, a little bit. At Silverstone we did expect to struggle a little bit but in Budapest we thought to be a bit stronger but it was not the case, but, at least, we were back stronger at Spa.

Q: What are now the strenghts and weakness of the car?

Alonso: We need to see many things, it's up to us to understand a little better what the car is doing now, compared to the beginning of the season, how many upgrades we brought compared to our main competitors, and understanding the new tyres the best, it's the same for everybody, we need to do abetter job.

Q: Do you feel Aston Martin has slipped down in the development race?

Alonso: It's difficult to know. Every race we will love to understand and we will have many questions and we never know exactly what is the cause of it. In Austria, Hulkenberg, on the Haas, was fourth after qualifying, so we were all surprise. In Silverstone, Williams were very fast and we were surprised, in Hungary, Alfa Romeo was very fast, we were all surprised. But then, normally, in the races, everything balances out and the big team finish in front. We are just in the back end of those top teams, so we need to get back to the front end of that group.

Q: How would you reflect on the first half season?

Alonso: Incredible. A dream first half of the season, you know, we are P3 in the constructors championship in front of Ferrari, we are P3 in the drivers championship together with Lewis, you know, it was impossible to think this way when we arrived in Bahrain five months ago.

Q: How does it feel to be 42-years old now?

Alonso: Nearly 43 you can say now! Which it was the theme all through the year. But no, I think people already saw that,, it's not a big change when you're 41 or when you're 25, it's more in your head, in the motivation, how you approach the weekend. And, races like Spa or the stars I had in Spa, or even few examples, you know, in other teams: they bet more on experience. Like Daniel now in AlphaTauri and things like that. So, it's not about youth, it's just about going fast.

Q: Based on what's going on at Alpine, you're now certain you made the right decision coming here instead of staying where you were?

Alonso: Obviously you never know that. You know, it would be nice to have a crystal ball and before you make a decision in switching teams you know the future, but yes, at the end I'm happy where I am, and there is a project here into the future and I'm very proud.