Absolutely no one will be taken aback when they learn that Aston Martin will not be fighting for a championship in 2023 yet. The British team maintains its long-term objectives. This year, she will mainly seek to lead the middle of the field, to fight “occasionally” for a podium and to develop her car. Words by Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Each weekend that passes is one less that separates us from the first race of the new Formula 1 season, scheduled for March 5 in Bahrain. Who says season which is fast approaching says unveiling of new cars. After Red Bull, Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri, Williams and Haas last week, it was Aston Martin’s turn to present its new car on Monday.
Quebecer Lance Stroll and his new teammate Fernando Alonso met the media a few hours before the AMR23 was revealed, which they will be driving for the next nine months.
“We haven’t driven the car yet, but I think the target for us this season is to be consistent, to fight for good points every weekend and occasionally to fight for podiums. explained the only Canadian driver on the grid this season.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Lance Stroll
To his left, the double world champion approved. “We have to be down to earth, understand that there are no miracles in Formula 1 from one year to the next in just a few months. There is a huge gap to fill with the best teams. We must certainly be able to lead this midfield, to approach the three leading teams. »
I can’t say that we are going to fight for victory this season, that would be a lie, but at the same time we want to have a good car to start the season. We will develop it over the course of the campaign.
Fernando Alonso, driver for Aston Martin
Aston Martin is consistent in its discourse. It was already very clear last year: its vision and its objectives are long-term. The team, working out of a brand new ‘almost ready’ factory at Silverstone, is growing and progressing, but it hasn’t reached the top of the mountain yet…or rather, the end of the track.
PHOTO ASTON MARTIN, PROVIDED BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The Aston Martin AMR23 which will be on track in 2023.
” [Aston Martin] has nearly doubled the staff in the past 24 months, Alonso argued. […] There’s a lot going on right now with these new people joining the team, new ideas… It sure will take time, you’ll see more benefits in the long run. »
“In Formula 1, you need investment and you need talent. We have the investment, we have the facilities and we have the talent, so it’s only a matter of time. Unfortunately, I’m not 20, but I’ll do my best to help the team. »
Teammates who know each other well
Lance Stroll is getting used to having experienced riders as teammates. After having rubbed shoulders with the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2021 and 2022, he is now working with Alonso, who is dragging a career of 20 seasons in F1 with him.
“I have a lot of memories of watching him fight for championships against [Michael] Schumacher. I’m not going to lie: I was encouraging Schumacher, ”launched the Quebecer with a smile.
“I woke up at 8 or 9 a.m. [pour regarder les courses] when I was five or six years old. He was the driver of the hour, so it’s great to have him in our team. »
Alonso is not his first team change or his first teammate. But this time, he assures, is “very different”. First, he has known the Stroll family well for over ten years; he also recently affirmed that his young teammate had the speed and the talent to be world champion one day.
Otherwise, the Spaniard seems sincerely happy with the approach taken by the British team. “Everyone here is humble, hungry for success,” he explained, blaming some of his former teams for their lack of a thirst for victory.
“If they finished fourth, they were happy with that. If they finished seventh, it was a celebration. Here, there is no celebration until we win and it is very attractive. »