Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso moved to Aston Martin from Renault-owned Alpine at the end of the last season. Alonso signed a multi-year contract with the Silverstone-based side as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel.
It might still be too early to talk about Alonso’s title prospects this season but Aston Martin seemed in fine touch during the pre-season testing in Bahrain at the end of last week. The Spaniard himself has now made a bold prediction ahead of the competitive season.
Alonso has reportedly claimed that Aston Martin displayed stronger race pace than Ferrari during the pre-season testing simulation. Alonso, at the same time, also confessed that his side’s preparations faced a huge jolt due to the absence of Lance Stroll. The Canadian–Belgian racing driver suffered a wrist injury in a cycling accident.
“We put fuel in for those 57 laps and did the full race with the full set-up, even changing tyres. At the same time, Ferrari were doing the same programme as us with the same fuel for the race, same stops – and we were slightly faster,” Fernando Alonso said while talking to his fans.
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“We missed him [Lance Stroll] because some of my comments and my feelings about the car, we never knew if it was just me in a new team and a new car, or is it an Aston Martin thing that Lance could have spotted,” said the Spaniard.
“We cannot do it without him so I hope he can come back very soon,” the two-time Formula One world champion added.
Fernando Alonso emerged as second-fastest to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the opening day of the testing. Alonso’s performance deteriorated on the second day as he was the third-fastest, with 130 laps on the board.
Alonso had taken part in the pre-season testing along with his teammate Felipe Drugovich.
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Fernando Alonso had guided his former side Alpine to a fourth-place finish last year. Aston Martin, on the other hand, could only manage to claim seventh spot in the overall standings last season.
Prior to his stint at Alpine, the 41-year-old had to endure two difficult outings at McLaren in 2007 and 2015-18. Later, Alonso spent five seasons at Ferrari as well.
The 2023 Formula One season will kick off with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain’s International Circuit in Sakhir this weekend.
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