Definitely, after five races, Fernando Alonso has established himself in third place in the F1 World Championship with his Aston Martin. The Asturian is “the first in the rest of the world”, only surpassed by the two galactics, the two Red Bull drivers, who compete in another orbit, as was seen again in the Miami GP, won by Max Verstappen, with Alonso third.
The Dutchman and his teammate Checo Pérez never gave the competitors an option and added their fourth double 1-2 in the five GPs consumed. If this trend continues, the championship will have no history. Because neither Ferrari nor Mercedes bother them.
To break this bullfighting monopoly, Fernando Alonso is confident that his Aston Martin will increase its performance before the arrival of the European triplet that forms Imola-Monaco-Barcelona, ​​the three consecutive races. Also aware that having positioned himself as the second car on the grid is an achievement that not even the most optimistic of the Silverstone factory expected.
“I think at the beginning of the year to get a podium was unbelievable. Now, after four podiums, obviously we want more, at least a second place, but the two Red Bulls are always unbreakable and always super fast. But like I said, maybe in Monaco, maybe in Barcelona we have a chance,” Alonso said at the post-race press conference in Miami.
And it is that the landing of the great circus in Europe is always synonymous with novelties and improvements in racing cars; everyone hopes to take a step forward. But, in addition, the profile of the tracks, especially Monaco -with slow curves- and Barcelona -with a wide range of angles, which reward the most complete car in all aspects- can be an ally of Aston Martin, which does not It has its strong point in the long straights.
“Now come Monaco and Barcelona, ​​where the race is not so important. We have lost some points with Mercedes, which they have added with both cars, but we will recover in the next Grand Prix”, predicts Alonso, who senses that Aston Martin will be superior Mercedes in qualifying, more decisive in Monaco and Montmeló.
In addition to the consistency shown on such different circuits, the Asturian driver looks around and observes that the Ferraris, the great threat for second place, have not yet taken a step forward. “In Miami we were expecting slightly stronger opponents, but the Ferraris have fared worse than expected. In Monaco and Barcelona we have to find something on Saturdays, as maybe Ferrari has, which is always very fast [in qualifying] and then on Sunday it disappears a bit.”
Being the second team in the Constructors’ World Championship and Alonso the third in the drivers’ championship, settled on the podium on a regular basis, optimism is evident at Aston Martin. But also the ambition of wanting to go further, without mentioning the forbidden word of opting to fight for the title. A chimera today.
“Four podiums in five races is a good record. We hope to continue like this or even better,†said Mike Krack, the Luxembourg-born engineer who captains the Silverstone team. Prudence is common in Krack, who warns of the difficulty of maintaining the current status: “We need to be realistic and keep our feet on the ground. It will be difficult to maintain the position we are in now.”