Another step forward for Fernando Alonso at the end of the tests

• First day Alonso, 29 thousandths behind Verstappen

In just three pre-season sessions, Aston Martin has confirmed a big step forward at Sakhir.

And the atmosphere within the team, under the influence of

, is a good example of this.

Yesterday, after the last relay of the Asturian, the engineers and mechanics led by

and

could hardly hide their satisfaction after reviewing the time tables.

Alonso's race pace placed the Anglo-Austrian team as the third power on the grid, only behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

With only two weeks to go before the start of the World Cup, Aston Martin seems to have the weapons to fight on almost equal terms with Mercedes.

«It has been a very important and very good week.

We can still get much more out of the car, things that we haven't had time to test, but the car has felt very good during these three days," Alonso assessed yesterday as soon as he got off the AMR23.

The sensations of the two-time world champion are nothing like those he experienced last year in Alpine.

Or years ago with McLaren.

In fact, it is his best pre-season since his stage with Ferrari.

A decade later, the Oviedo feels that the options of rubbing shoulders with the favorites are greater than ever.

The reasons for this optimism materialized yesterday in the regularity with which Alonso stopped the clock in the simulations organized by his wall.

With the yellow C2 tyre, prepared for the hot and abrasive asphalt of Bahrain, Fernando completed 17 laps in which he did not go below 1:36, an extraordinarily competitive pace that only pales in comparison to the power of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Performing at this level in long runs, completing the 300 km of a race, seems like the best news before the first round of the championship.

In addition, the levels of degradation of the rubber were more than remarkable.

Taking such good care of Pirelli compounds will be a pillar on which to build for the immediate future.

Fallow's Design

“We have been experimenting a bit with the different configurations.

And we have always found positive things with all three”, Alonso analyzed regarding the progress of a car that in the 2022 World Cup only surpassed Haas, AlphaTauri and Williams.

To yesterday's 80 laps for the Spaniard, we had to add the 77 for

, replacement for

, injured in one hand after a bicycle accident.

The quick adaptation of the Brazilian multiplies his options to take the start on March 5 on this same track.

In any case, Krack and his engineers will need several races to extract the full potential of the car.

In this change in philosophy, it is worth highlighting the work of Fallows, the technical director, signed a few months ago after his successful stage at Red Bull, where he worked under the legendary

.

One of the proofs that Fallows' first solo design works lies in the

.

Because that famous pitch at high speed that weighed down

so much in 2022 has finally stopped being a nuisance.

«There is no comparison with what happened to us.

We've gotten rid of that for now," said

, chief engineer at the futuristic Silverstone factory.

To stick to other reasons that invite optimism, it is enough to listen to some of its opponents.

"According to our calculations, right now Aston Martin is at least fourth and could even pose a threat to Mercedes and Ferrari," a rival engineer explained to the prestigious Auto Motor und Sport

.

This verdict adds to the praise received yesterday by

,

Red Bull's

"It seems that his concept of car has made them advance and it seems that they are not too far away," admitted the Briton, also highlighting the role of Alonso: "Fernando, in particular, seems very competitive."

However, the preseason was always conducive to games of appearances by the favorites, used to hiding their cards.

So the true potential of the Mercedes W14 and the speed of the SF-23 of

and

still have to be questioned .

Those who seem to drive in another dimension are

and

, the fastest in yesterday's closing (1:30.616), aboard a Red Bull that is as solid as it is unapproachable.

Last test day

Classification and times

1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) |

1:30.616 |

133 laps

2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) |

1:30.664 |

65

3. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) |

1:30.827 |

131

4.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) |

1:31.024 |

67

5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) |

1:31.036 |

76

6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) |

1:31.261 |

79

7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) |

1:31.381 |

95

8. George Russell (Mercedes) |

1:31.442 |

83

9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) |

1:31.450 |

80

10. Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) |

1:32.075 |

77

11. Lando Norris (McLaren) |

1:32.160 |

37

12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) |

1:32.762 |

56

13. Alex Albon (Williams) |

1:32.793 |

136

14. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) |

1:33.257 |

76

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) |

1:33.329 |

77

16. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) |

1:33.655 |

44

17. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) |

1:38.244 |

87

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