Alonso has had an outstanding debut season with the Silverstone-based team, finishing on the podium in five of the first seven races.
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Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack admits that he often wonders how long Fernando Alonso will drive for the team, but he is relieved to hear that the Spaniard intends to stay with the Silverstone-based squad for the foreseeable future. Alonso has had an outstanding debut season with the Silverstone-based team, finishing on the podium in five of the first seven races and currently sitting third in the championship with 99 points. Alonso stated last weekend at his home race in Barcelona that he intended to stay with Aston Martin for a few more years, and Krack was asked for his thoughts on the two-time world champion’s statement during the Team Principal’s press conference.
“It’s nice to hear that, that he has said that several years, we would be happy with that,” said Krack. “I think the main thing, and this is one of the big qualities, is the desire to be at the front, the motivation. And I think this is fully on with Fernando. We don’t think so much about that, to be honest, as you guys know. We take it race by race, and we try to do well every race. It’s nice to hear that but we didn’t think too much about it yet. Let’s make it happen.”
Alonso and Aston Martin’s strong start to the season has many wondering when they will win their first race of the season, with their best finish coming in Monaco, where the Spaniard finished second.
When asked if he believes they can win a race this year, Krack refused to make any predictions, instead urging his team to be ready if the opportunity arises.
“I think that is very difficult to say because it’s such a relative competition that you are depending on the pace of others, you are depending on yourself, so I think it would be bold to say we will win this one, or that we are close to winning,” Krack explained. “We have to see. We have to be there at each opportunity that is coming and, if it comes, we have to be ready, and until then we have to work hard to keep ourselves in the position to be there. I will not make any predictions of when we’re going to win a race.”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, beating Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with teammate Sergio Perez finishing fourth. Verstappen dominated the race from start to finish, claiming his fifth victory of the 2023 season and his third victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while increasing his championship lead. Mercedes took a double podium after Hamilton survived a first-lap collision with McLaren’s Lando Norris and overcame an early battle with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and Russell worked his way up from 12th on the grid with a series of overtakes.
Perez finished fourth after starting 11th, just missing out on the final podium spot to Russell after a charging final stint, with Sainz rounding out the top five after dropping away from the sharp end as the race progressed. Fernando Alonso was unable to add another podium to his, and Aston Martin’s, tally with a quiet run to seventh on home soil, but the green machines bagged a solid haul of points thanks to teammate Lance Stroll’s sixth place.
“It was quite hard to pass actually. Once I was behind Fernando [Alonso], I really had to do his pace, so that meant it was a little bit trickier,” Checo said after the race. “It is what it is. I think if we wanted to finish higher, we needed a much better qualifying, so I’m looking forward to Montreal now.”
