Home
Red Bull are running away with both the Driver's and Constructor's Championship in the 2023 season. Led by Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez, Oracle Racing have won all their races this season.
And while all the attention is on the Milton Keynes-based constructor as they chase a second-straight championship and sixth overall, one other UK-based team has been impressing with their cars and their performances this season — Aston Martin.
Red Bull currently have 321 points, while the second-placed Mercedez are placed way below them with 167 points to their name. But Aston Martin are a close shout-in for the second spot, with 154 points to their name. A couple more podium positions to their name and the team will have moved to second position — a major achievement considering their previous showings in F1 seasons.
So what has changed?
Aston Martin brought in Fernando Alonso from Alpine towards the end of the 2022 season to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel and to partner Lance Stroll. The team's objective was to improve massively on their seventh-place finish last time around, having last finished in the top four in 2020.
And now, the team is working towards their best-ever finish in the Constructor's Championship.
Signing a proven world champion like Fernando Alonso was the move that took Aston Martin up the grid — literally. Upon hearing about the dispute between Alpine and Alonso, they did well to quickly jump on the deal and seal it even before the end of the 2022 F1 championship.
And with him on their side, Aston Martin have secured podiums in six of the opening eight races.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real coup began with Red Bull's prized British engineer Dan Fallows being recruited by Aston Martin for a lucrative deal. Reports suggest that the aerodynamic chief was offered a salary of more than one million euros a month as well as shares in the British team.
Investment always spells success as is seen in other sports, and this has definitely worked in their favour.
Aston Martin's car is built for success
What has surprised F1 fans around the world is the level at which Aston Martin has been performing in the 2023 season. A lot was expected from Ferrari after their position in the 2022 campaign but they have been dismal this season. On the other hand, Mercedez have improved after a poor season because of the changes enforced by the FIA ahead of the 2022 campaign.
In fact, the performance of the car has even left Fallows astounded!
"I think the biggest strength is that we're doing a lot better than we were expecting to. It's gratifying to come into the season with a competitive car, or at least a car that's competitive for the P2 position," he told RacingNews365.com.
This is seemingly the culmination of team owner Lawrence Stroll's five-year plan when transitioning from Racing Point to Aston Martin. With a new technology campus at their disposal as well as a team with high-end talent on their side, the results for Aston Martin have spoken for themselves; so much so that even Verstappen has been left awestruck — and maybe a little scared — about the performance of their UK rivals.
"This weekend, Aston Martin took a step forward, for sure," he said after the Canada GP, where Alonso led Aston Martin to finish second in the race. "We are still ahead, but we have to keep working, although I don't need to say it, we already know that and we are working on it. Things are coming."
The next pit stop for them will be to end their drought for P1 in an F1 race. Alonso has got them near, but getting them across the finish line before the mighty Max Verstappen is the next agenda on team principal Mike Krack's mind. Speaking ahead of the Austrian GP, he said, "We have a car with a driver that wants to do it – and we're not far from doing it. So for us, it is very motivational and we need to fight hard to close the gap as much as we can for the next races."
With Red Bull (once again, literally) racing away with the Driver's Championship and Constructor's Championship this season and making it boring for F1 fans around the world, all eyes are now on Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso. Can they do the unthinkable? Only time (and the next 14 races) will tell.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
Max Verstappen sets fastest time in wet Canadian practice session, while Carlos Sainz crashes
