Fernando Alonso scored eight podiums in the 2023 season, more than the past eight years of his career in the sport combined. Aston Martin had the closest vehicle in pace to Red Bull during a large part of the first half of the year. However, Aston Martin had a huge loss in performance during the second half.

Aston Martin went from repeatedly finishing on the podium to struggling to qualify in the top 10 and even score points. The Silverstone-based team just could not get their car configuration right, which meant that Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll had a car that could barely score points.

The team made some major changes for Brazil, with high hopes coming into the weekend. These hopes soared higher as Alonso managed the team’s eighth podium this season. After Brazil, the Spaniard reasoned that this podium-scoring form could potentially continue into the last two races.

We had some hopes for this race and they proved to be right. And now, why not be competitive in the last two? I don't know [about] the level of the podium. But hopefully, in the mix, that will be a happy place for us

Fernando Alonso said, as reported by autosport.com

The next race Aston Martin can prove themselves in is Las Vegas, the brand-new track that will be a new experience for every team on the grid. As Aston Martin tries to beat Mclaren for fourth in the championship, Alonso’s former team, Ferrari, will also look to use Las Vegas to dethrone Mercedes from second place in the championship.

Fernando Alonso explains COVID-19’s role in his return to F1

After the 2017 F1 season, Fernando Alonso announced his retirement after a miserable time with his old team, McLaren. He had previously had a bittersweet time with the team, losing out on the championship by one point in 2007. Alonso’s second time with them was worse, as the team suffered from no pace due to Honda engines not working out for them.

Alonso said he had always left a door open for Formula One, even as he experienced success in other categories, such as winning the 24 hours of Le Mans and, subsequently, the World Endurance Championship. He found the new ground effect concept interesting, and eventually, COVID-19 came around. The pandemic caused sponsorships in other racing categories to decline while F1 prospered. Alonso said this survival of Formula One was a factor in his return. 

I thought that only Formula One was in good health. All the other categories had a lack of sponsors, most of the races were cancelled, whereas Formula One remained very strong even during the pandemic. So, I thought the next challenge could be the ultimate challenge: to come back to Formula One and try to be competitive again.

Fernando Alonso said in an interview with GQ magazine

Alonso’s return to the pinnacle of motorsport with his old team Renault, now named and rebranded to Alpine, was not the best of comebacks. Reliability issues in 2021 and 2022 furthered the disappointment. Still, the two-time World Champion proved critics wrong when he replaced the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin for 2023, scoring eight podiums so far this year and hoping for more.

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