Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso could not help but hide his excitement after an extremely positive outing during the practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Lawrence Stroll’s team has enjoyed a very good pre-season and although Lance broke both his wrists during a freak cycling incident, he returned to the track as well.
The teammate relationship between Alonso and Lance seems to be good, with the experienced Spanish driver even claiming that the youngster has the potential to be world champion soon.
Alonso was the quickest driver during P2 and eclipsed both the Red Bulls, which was certainly one of the biggest surprises of the day.
The two-time world champion urged fans not to get too ahead of themselves, but stressed that it could be a good year for the team.
“Well, obviously, it’s another step into the right direction. The car still feels good, but we need to wait and see,” Alonso said.
“At the moment, there is not much focus still on times. We have to improve a few things on car in terms of set-up, but also it’s very early days.
“Even in the meetings, the approach to racing, we’re still changing a lot of things and trying to reinforce the team in every area, not only car performance. It’s going to be a very interesting process, but I think the team is learning every day.”
Alonso was then asked how big a stride Aston Martin could make this season, considering they finished the 2022 campaign P7 among the constructors.
“Well, let’s see what happens in the first couple of races. At the moment it’s only good test sessions,” Alonso said.
“I think Lawrence [Stroll, Aston Martin CEO] has this vision on everything he does. It’s very difficult to see Lawrence Stroll failing on anything that he has into his vision. I think it’s a matter of time that Aston Martin could challenge the top teams.
“We’re in a very interesting process with a completely new car, new technical department, and a lot of things we are learning, but I think there’s still a long way to go.”
While many believed Alonso’s best days are already past him, the Spaniard still harbours dreams of adding to his two world championships with Renault in 2004 and 2005.