Fernando Alonso, 41, in his 20th season in F1, will this year surpass the longevity records of 19 seasons held by Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen. He embarks on the umpteenth attempt to be champion, his fifth team different from him (Minardi, Renault / Alpine, McLaren, Ferrari), an Aston Martin team that exudes ambition in the presentation of its AMR23. That was, according to the Asturian, the main reason for joining the British project. In an interview with Dazn, the Oviedo driver explains his goals for 2023: don't expect to see him win.
"I am very excited. I have prepared myself well physically, and I feel the energy of the new factory. I am really looking forward to the start of the season and to get behind the wheel of the car."
"The ambition, the factory, the big signings, the ambition to be a big team, it was tempting when the offer came last summer. The team will have to take steps little by little to be big, but I am sure that sooner or later sooner they will be able to win races and be a great team".
"It's exciting to take on the responsibility of leading the team and developing the car. They are in the process of becoming a big team, when they were Force India they had 350 workers and now they are taking steps to be big. I can contribute a little more for myself. experience, to see what is most effective, to work on the simulator. There are several side projects that are fun."
"Aston Martin's is a winning project in the medium term. In the short term, only those who won last year (Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes) can be so. We are not going to win races or the championship this year. I am honest and I respond with the feet on the ground. I'd be lying if I said it. It's clear that we're going to lay the foundations for next year to win races."
"Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes had a lot of advantage last year, they were around seventh, so trying to get into the fight for the top three would be very ambitious. So to take fourth place where Alpine was last year, but with more reliability, it would leave me happy".
