Fernando Alonso picked up his one hundredth Components 1 podium end final day trip and in consequence, he says he and Aston Martin are brimming with confidence heading into this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Saudi Arabia noticed the two-time champion end third for a consecutive race, after being briefly demoted to P4. Aston Martin requested stewards to evaluate their choice to penalise the motive force and Alonso’s one hundredth F1 podium was reinstated. In Australia, Alonso mentioned the workforce had been thrilled with the efficiency of their automotive – however thought of their podium run to be a “good shock”.
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“For the time being, we’re extraordinarily pleased with the efficiency of the automotive clearly. We had been higher than anticipated, particularly in Jeddah – I believe it was a pleasant shock, so we arrive right here with an excellent degree of confidence,” he mentioned.
“However… after just a few occasions, any more, I believe the vehicles will change rather a lot in just a few areas, and some developments, so let’s see if we will preserve this tempo.”
As one in every of simply six drivers to have notched up 100 podiums in Components 1, Alonso mentioned his focus was on holding that run going.
“It feels good, it feels good to achieve that quantity, however yeah, clearly if you end up within the championship you aren’t actually concentrating on that, you might be simply considering of the subsequent weekend, as we did after Jeddah and right here we’re at Melbourne and hopefully we’ve got a robust weekend once more.”
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Requested whether or not Aston Martin had been now assured that they’ll proceed their podium-finishing tempo all through the season, Alonso replied: “Not but. I believe we’ve got to attend and see. Additionally I believe very quickly, from Baku or Imola, we are going to see the groups altering just a few elements on the vehicles and perhaps that modifications additionally how aggressive you’re feeling, so let’s wait and see.”
Group mate Lance Stroll, who broke his wrists in a pre-season coaching accident and missed pre-season testing – however returned to race within the season opener – gave an replace on his situation in Australia.
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“Yeah I nonetheless have these fractures, they’re not achieved but – bones don’t heal in just a few weeks – however I’m positively feeling significantly better,” he mentioned.
Stroll added that Aston Martin had been in a a lot happier place than final 12 months – the workforce on their aforementioned run of two consecutive podiums, versus 2022 once they’d failed to attain a degree after three races.
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“Yeah, totally different environment for positive than a 12 months in the past. We had been in a tricky place 12 months in the past and everybody I believe was pissed off and disenchanted. However this time, we’re already wanting ahead to the weekend and excited after wanting on the efficiency from the final weeks,” he mentioned.
