Fernando Alonso's debut with Aston Martin in the official pre-season tests in Bahrain went from misfortune to euphoria. The start could not have been more surreal for the Spaniard, when the Aston Martin mechanics damaged the flat bottom of the AMR23 when they lowered the car at a stop, just after its first lap.
But after missing an hour and a half of training to repair the car, the two-time Spanish champion completed 60 laps without any technical mishaps and placed the green car in second place on the time table, just 29 thousandths of a second behind Max Verstappen. A hopeful start that invites optimism in his fifth era in F1.
Strange as it may seem, in the first contact, the flat bottom of the Aston Martin was damaged when the mechanics dropped it to the ground. A setback that forced the car to be repaired and subtracted time from the Spaniard on his first day of pre-season tests with the green car.
The bizarre mishap occurred early in the afternoon session, when Alonso got into the green car. In the morning, the Aston Martin -trains with a single unit- rolled into the hands of Felipe Drugovich. The young Italian-Brazilian tester already had a small electrical problem that they managed to solve shortly after, and it did not prevent him from completing 40 laps. He signed the 13th time, 1s727 behind the reference, once again, Max Verstappen.
In the afternoon it was Fernando Alonso's turn, who did his first lap -installation- and returned to the garage. But after the mechanics checked the tires in a pit stop simulation -for which the car is raised with the hydraulic jacks-, when they dropped the car they did it without too much care, it fell too violently and the flat bottom was damaged , as revealed by Dazn F1 in its broadcast.
After the mishap, which had Alonso standing on the wall for an hour and a half, the Spaniard was able to get in the car and start rolling. In a few laps, the Spaniard was already squeezing the green car and placing it in fifth position on the time table, 9 tenths off Max Verstappen's best time.
Less than an hour before the end of the day, Alonso gave a very good lap and was only 29 thousandths behind Verstappen. At that time, the Spaniard was wearing a new C3 (soft) compound. At the end of the day, Alonso had completed 60 laps, maintaining second place on the time table.
The first day of pre-season training, at the Bahrain circuit, had a clear dominator: Max Verstappen. The Dutchman set the tone both in hot morning conditions - swapping with Carlos Sainz - and in the afternoon, when the temperature dropped as the sun went down.
Carlos Sainz, the 5th driver in the 2022 World Cup, began his third preseason in red with very good feelings, since he co-led the morning session with Verstappen and was second for most of the day, 4 tenths behind the Dutchman, until his friend Fernando Alonso pushed him away.
The fourth fastest time was recorded by Charles Leclerc, which could indicate the good start of the new Ferrari in terms of performance. Both red drivers were ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, fifth, by 2 tenths.
Ferrari is pursuing the drivers' title in 2023, after 16 years without winning a World Cup (since Kimi Räikkönen in 2007). The Maranello team has placed its successful project in the hands of a new team leader, the Frenchman Fréderic Vasseur.
The 2023 pre-season tests, reduced to just three days, continue this Friday and Saturday in Bahrain. It is not clear if Fernando Alonso will drive the Aston Martin for the three days, since Lance Stroll's participation for the Bahrain Grand Prix remains doubtful, so the team would give his wheel to Drugovich.
This week, Lance Stroll, suffered an accident while training with the bicycle that has left him out of the test sessions when he damaged a wrist.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 1m32s837
2. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), at 0s029
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), at 0s416
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 0s430
5. Lando Norris (McLaren), a 0s625
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), a 0s671
7. Alex Albon (Williams), at 0s834
8. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), a 0s886
9. George Russell (Mercedes), a 1s337
10. Logan Sargeant (Williams), a 1s487
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), a 1s587
12. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), a 1s721
13. Nyck de Vries (Alpha Tauri), in 1s722
14. Philip Drugovich (Aston Martin), in 1s727
15. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), a 1s834
16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), a 1s985
17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), a 2s034
18. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), a 2s051
19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), a 2s250
The World Cup, which will start next week in Bahrain, will be the longest in the 74 history of F1 with a total of 23 races. And the 10 teams participating in a championship in which the Dutchman Max Verstappen and his team, Red Bull, defend titles will only have three days to outline their set-up.
