Formula 1: "Surprised" by Aston Martin's performance, Fernando Alonso relishes his good results

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: FLORENT GOODEN / DPPI Media / DPPI via AFP 19:35 pm, April 27, 2023

"We thought we had a high-performance car but not to the point of competing with Mercedes and Ferrari," said Fernando Alonso, who joined Aston Martin this season, in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of this weekend's Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Since the beginning of the year, the veteran of the grid (41 years) chains the podiums and now hopes to snatch his 33rd victory in the premier class, the first since 2013.

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Interviewer: You started the season as a cannonball, grabbing three podiums in three races. What is your initial assessment of this?

Fernando Alonso: "This season is incredibly and surprisingly good to be honest. We thought we had a high-performance car but not to the point of competing with Mercedes and Ferrari, which surprised us. Maybe these two teams performed a little less in the first races, but they are still very strong and they will eventually improve. We can't take for granted that the whole season will be like this, things can change quickly, so we have to continue our development."

Interviewer: Will we see this year the 33rd victory of your career in F1?

Fernando Alonso: "I hope so, but without guarantees. If you look at the last few years, Gasly has won at Monza or Ocon in Hungary, so the opportunity to win a race is always there. But the closer you are to the top of the hierarchy, the better, so why not. For now, we mostly need a boost from others, the opportunity to win will be more related to a problem (from the competition, editor's note) and not because we are better."

Interviewer: You have a "multi-year" contract with Aston Martin. Are you already planning to extend?

Fernando Alonso: "I don't know (...), in 2024, I hope to have the opportunity to get on the podium again, I have already been there three times in 2023, things are looking better than expected. It can be tempting to prolong, but also tempting to stop now with a smile. In 2026, new regulations are planned and I don't know if I want to go down that path, so let's take things year after year."

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Interviewer: In 2019 and 2020, you took a two-year break from F1, before returning to Alpine in 2021. Was this break beneficial?

Fernando Alonso: "It helped me, maybe not so much in terms of driving style as in mentality and approach, motivation. When you've been in F1 for 18 years, it's not that you lose your motivation, I've always had it, but I was tired of traveling, routine, repeating the same things, so these two years were very refreshing, I recharged my batteries. Mentally, I'm much fresher, happy to arrive early on the circuit, happy to keep talking to the engineers (...), I have full batteries now."

Interviewer: Are you a better driver than you were in 2005 and 2006, when you won your titles?

Fernando Alonso: "I'm much better now, 100%."

Reporter: Relations with Lewis Hamilton have not always been good, how do you view it today?

Fernando Alonso: "I have a lot of respect for him, maybe this year we will fight closer to each other (...), I still think he is one of the best drivers in the sport, at the same time he was lucky to have a very dominant car for five years. Michael won seven (with Benetton and Ferrari), Max will probably win three (with Red Bull), I won two (with Renault), you always need the best car to win the championship.

Interviewer: Exactly, what do you think of the performance of defending champion Verstappen?

Fernando Alonso: "He drives better than everyone else, he's on top, he has the fastest car, everything is perfect at home (...) For now, it seems indestructible (..) I would like to challenge him, do Le Mans with him, pass the car and know that it is in good hands. We are very good friends."