Alonso lowers his podium goal
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso said he wouldn't be disappointed if he doesn't take the podium in the second half of the 2023 season.
The Spaniard took the podium in six of the first eight races at the start of the season and finished third in the championship. However, Alonso, who had difficulty even entering the top five in the last races, fell behind in the championship rankings due to the declining performance of the AMR23.
The second half of the season will kick off in Zandvoort this weekend and Alonso will fight for the podium in the remaining 10 races.
When asked if he would be disappointed if he doesn't hit the podium again in 2023, Alonso replied: "I won't be disappointed." said.
“It's harder to do that now. I think there is more struggle for the podium. Currently, four teams are in a very close fight. So it will be difficult to get six more [podiums] in the second half.”
“Hopefully I'll get two or three, I'll be happy with it!”
Alonso stated that he went to the Spanish town of Oviedo on summer vacation and spent time with his family there.
“We all need some rest. Probably the team, the mechanics and everyone else needed this break rather than us. It was necessary, especially after four races in July.”
“Now it will be a tough second half with back-to-back races and continuous flights. Especially the last two races are too far away from Vegas and Abu Dhabi so we have to fill our batteries.”
Alonso is happy with the team's performance despite the setback in recent races.
“It was kind of unexpected for the team to be so competitive.” said.
"From the first race we found ourselves in a very strong position, so we made the most of every opportunity in the first few races."
"The last few races maybe we weren't as competitive as we were in the first part of the year, but we still got points every weekend."
“In the second part of the year, I think we want to return to a more competitive position. Right now, behind Red Bull, the group is very close with Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren.”
"That's why we want to be in this fight all the way to Abu Dhabi, and that's our aim."
Asked how they will regain their form at the beginning of the season, the Spanish driver said: "Formula 1 and everything is changing very fast." said.
"It was a surprise to us that the car was this fast, but I think the team took an extraordinary step over the winter by understanding what the problems were last year."
"We've done really well in all these races to get those results in endurance, strategy and a lot of things."
"It's not just about the speed of the car, but you have to do your best at every point, from the first practice session to the race on Sunday."
“Right now it's like we're in the Champions League and we're fighting against very top teams that are trying hard to improve off the track as well. This is the biggest challenge for Aston Martin.”