Fernando Alonso left Alpine to join Aston Martin in Formula 1 this year. At the time of the decision, in the middle of last year, the British team was far behind the competitiveness of the French rival, so the move was met with a lot of skepticism.
The truth is that, despite some bumps along the way throughout 2023, especially in the first half of the season, it proved the Spanish driver right – with a series of podiums, regularly fighting for the top three in the early stages. Even with the decline in performance of the AMR23 as the months went by, he still managed to achieve more significant results.
Now that the year is coming to an end, Alonso admitted, quoted by SPEEDWEEK.com, that it was one of the best campaigns of his career: ‘I am very happy with my own performance this year. In fact, I think this is my best season in Formula 1, on par with 2012 with Ferrari. I was motivated, I was fit, and I performed very well in some of the most difficult conditions’.
Regarding the highlights of 2023 for him, the two-time champion from 2005 and 2006 pointed out: ‘I would say Bahrain, Monaco, Canada, Monza, and Brazil were my personal top five’.
It is strange to mention the Italian Grand Prix in Monza considering the ninth-place finish, but Alonso explained his choice: ‘It is clear to me that people do not remember that ninth place. But I know that in Italy we were probably the slowest car, or maybe the second slowest, and still finishing in the top ten was very satisfying’.
