(Motorsport) Aston Martin unveiled their 2023 car AMR23 at their brand new Silverstone campus featuring a classic green livery which is synonymous with the British manufacturer. Formerly known as Racing Point and Force India, Aston Martin have big expectations from the 2023 season after finishing seventh in the last two years following their re-brand. While Aston Martin have always emphasised on the importance of competing at the top of the grid, the British manufacturer has a long-term approach towards success.
Two time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who will be racing for Aston Martin after leaving Alpine at the end of last season described the team as “special”. Speaking at the launch, the Spaniard said “There is something going on in this team that makes things special.
“This is very different compared to any other team I joined [recently] where maybe they had success in the past and they were just in a comfortable position. They were fourth and they were happy with fourth. They were fifth and they were happy with fifth. They were seventh and there was a celebration. There is no celebration here until we win… and this is very appealing.”
Alonso replaced Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin for 2023 after the German retired from Formula 1. The Spaniard rejected a new contract with Alpine, who performed better than Aston Martin last season. The move doesn’t make a lot of sense for Alonso, as he is currently 41 years old and might not have the time to oversee a rebuild for the long term future of Aston Martin.
However, the heavy investment by Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll as well as the improving facilities and influx of talent, particularly of new technical director Dan Fallows from Red Bull could have been a factor in Alonso joining.
Every day I’m happier,” said Alonso. “I’m very demanding on everything that I do. I give my 100 per cent and I expect the same from the people I work with. From the first day at Aston Martin, I felt exactly the same values from the people around me. It’s very motivating. In Formula 1, you need investment and you need talent. We have the investment, we have the facilities and we have the talent. Unfortunately I am not 20 years old any more, but I will do my best to help the team.
“I cannot say to anyone we will be fighting for victories this year. I will lie if I say that. But at the same time we want to have a good car to start with and maybe in the second part of the year we can get closer. If an opportunity comes we will not miss that opportunity.
“We have to understand there are no miracles in F1, from one year to the next, only a few months since Abu Dhabi and there is a big gap to recover to the top teams. But we definitely have to leave the midfield and get closer to the top three teams. The most important thing this year is to make sure this is the baseline to develop future Aston Martin cars.”
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