If it weren't for the fact that Red Bull is still as unreachable as last year, with its two drivers scoring doubles and already accumulating 14 and 13 points, respectively, over Fernando Alonso in just two races, the green tide could well begin to dream of the possibility of see the Asturian fighting for a title.
It is not a free statement: his start to the 2023 World Cup, with two consecutive podiums (which he had not achieved for 10 years, in 2013 -Italy-Singapore-), is one of the best of his 20 seasons in F1, in the line of the magical triennium 2005-2007, in which he added his two crowns and a bronze. In fact, he had not scored so many points (30) since the beginning of 2012 with Ferrari.
In his two decades in the great circus, only in those three seasons of maximum performance was Alonso able to link two podiums in the first two races: a third and a first place with Renault in 2005, and a victory and a second in the 2006 (Renault) and 2007 (McLaren). Now there have been two third places (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia), with practically no option to opt for something else against the two red bulls. Even so, the AMR23 has been confirmed as the second best car on the grid, beating the Mercedes and Ferrari in qualifying and in the race.
With a very long, record-breaking season (23 races), and with Aston Martin with full capacity to evolve the car, the door is open for the greens to get closer to Red Bull – which will not stay still during the year either, even though it may have lost its grip. wind tunnel hours for exceeding the budget ceiling in 2022-. Or be on the rebound, with the rod ready, for when they fail. That they will fail, like all.
Another flattering fact for the Asturian is that the car has been fast in different settings such as Bahrain and the very high speed of the Jeddah Corniche, which encourages us to think that the AMR23 will be competitive in Australia, in Imola or on the twisty streets of Monaco.
This start of 2023, put into perspective of his career, is the sixth in which he has scored the most points (applying the same current scoring scale). In fact, Alonso had not filled his bag so much (30 points) since 2012, in his third year with Ferrari, when he added 35 (of a 5th and a victory). He then was a two-time champion, in that very tight final decided in Brazil by only 3 points in favor of Vettel. And this year?
