Fernando Alonso admits ‘hurt’ despite Aston Martin driver’s ‘dream’ F1 season

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Fernando Alonso admits that Aston Martin ending the 2023 Formula 1 season fifth in the constructors’ championship ‘hurts’ after a ‘dream’ year for himself and the team.

A raft of upgrades catapulted Aston Martin to the front of the grid at the start of 2023. But a strong start soon turned slightly sour as the Silverstone team could not keep pace with their rivals’ developments. Lance Stroll also failed to match Alonso’s results in their other AMR23.

Alonso emerged as the closest rival for Red Bull pair, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, over the opening rounds. He finished on the podium at six of the first eight races, including in P2 in Monaco and Canada. But Aston Martin’s want of successful upgrades saw them slip away.

Aston Martin failed to capitalise on Fernando Alonso’s early results

Verstappen firmly felt the force of Alonso’s threat during the early stages of the season. The 26-year-old has even admitted that the challenge Alonso posed for pole position in Monaco left Verstappen ‘shaking’. He needed to gain everything in the final sector to snatch P1 away.

It would have been Alonso’s first pole position in Formula 1 since the 2012 German GP. The two-time champion is also still waiting for his 33rd win having last been atop the podium at the 2013 Spanish GP. Alonso has claimed pole position 22 times in the Spaniard’s F1 career.

Stroll never came close to challenging for pole or a win during the 2023 F1 season. The 25-year-old recorded his best qualifying of the season with third place for the Sao Paulo GP in November. He also dropped out in Q1 and Q2 seven times apiece but Alonso only did once.

The Canadian further took his best race result of the season at the chaotic Australian GP in April with P4. But his result would have been far worse had the initial restart counted after driving through the gravel. Stroll’s next-best results in 2023 were P5 in Brazil and Las Vegas.

Fernando Alonso admits the F1 constructors’ championship ‘hurts’

Aston Martin’s dearth of successful upgrades and Stroll’s struggles coupled to see the team end the 2023 season fifth in the constructors’ championship with 280 points. Alonso scored 206 of their haul, as well, which was enough to end 2023 sat fourth in the drivers’ standings.

Alonso now states that his fourth-place finish proves it was a ‘dream’ season for himself and Aston Martin. But the team’s standing ‘hurts’ as they deserved more after their early-season form. Alonso was third in the drivers’ standings after eight of the 22 rounds with 117 points.

“This is Formula 1,” Alonso told GP Blog. “This is not a charity event. We have to have the pressure. We have to deliver. Fifth in the constructors, it hurts a little bit because I think we were better than that, or we were hoping better than that at the beginning of the year.

“On the drivers, to finish fourth is a little bit unreal fighting with the guys that we were fighting. In fact, if we are fifth in the constructors, normally you should be ninth and 10th in the drivers. So, yeah, it’s a dream season for many people in Aston Martin including myself.”