“We have to be realistic,” Aston Martin exec stays wary of rival teams aiming to destroy their podium-winning streak
Aston Martin's Sporting Director has given his take on what the team needs to do to defend their current Championship position till the end of the season.
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Three races into the 2023 season, Aston Martin have performed better than they have ever since the Racing Point got remodeled into a new team. They have garnered 65 points with three podium victories, have built a 39-point-wide gap between themselves and Ferrari, and are currently settled into the second spot in the World Championship, above heavyweights like Mercedes. But all these results have not blinded AMR Sporting Director Andy Stevenson from seeing the reality–the path is still very long, and it will require hard work to defend their position against rivals.
Formula 1 is all about neck and neck fights between the various participating teams, but for the last few years, the contest at the front of the grid has always been about the three big players–Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari. But now, Aston Martin have entered the game with a strong squad and a brilliant car that has helped Fernando Alonso win three back-to-back podium places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, as well as in Australia. Despite such promising results, Aston Martin executive Stevenson believes the teams that they have already surpassed, will try to uproot AMR from the second spot in the rankings.
Already, several news reports have claimed that the teams like Mercedes and McLaren are planning to unveil new upgrades for their cars in the upcoming Grands Prix. Thus, the game will become all the more difficult for Aston Martin to safeguard their position against the rivals. Commenting on this, Andy Stevenson said, “We have to remain realistic. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to stay where we are.“
Aston Martin’s Sporting Director feels all eyes are on them, waiting for the team to make a mistake
With Fernando Alonso‘s brilliance behind the wheels, and the perfectly-designed car, Aston Martin have managed to get it right in the first three races of 2023. But 20 Grands Prix are yet to arrive, and if Lawrence Stroll’s team wants to defend their spot, they have to survive the battle against heavyweights like Mercedes and Ferrari. At this moment, if the team makes a single error, it could cost them dearly.
So, Andy Stevenson said, “When you’re towards the back of the field people aren’t watching you as much, but when you’re at the front you’re constantly under the microscope. There are some incredibly well-established teams that might not have started the season strongly but will be doing everything they can to close the gap and try to beat us.”
As Andy Stevenson has already predicted, it will indeed be difficult for Aston Martin to stick to their spot of being the second-best team on the F1 2023 grid. But with Alonso’s flying form, Lance Stroll’s strong support, and their great car, it seems that they might be able to break the Red Bull-Mercedes-Ferrari curse and keep their top-3 spot in the Championship standings. Now, it remains to be seen if this vision comes true by the end of the season, or if some other surprise awaits the fans.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)