‘Fast’ Aston Martin have taken a ‘big step’ during the break according to Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen recently commented on how well Aston Martin's new AMR23 looked during pre-season testing in Bahrain in 2023. The British team did not perform well last season and somehow finished seventh in the constructor's championship. Prior to the 2023 F1 season, however, the green machine looked quite powerful.

Speaking to the media, Kevin Magnussen revealed that Aston Martin was one of the teams that impressed him the most in terms of pace. They were able to put in lots of laps and place themselves near the top of the timing sheets. Magnussen said:

“I think Aston Martin looks fast. They seem to constantly be doing good long runs and when they try to put in a fast time, they seem to do it as well. So I think that they look like they’ve done a big step.”

After Sebastian Vettel left the sport for good after 2022, Fernando Alonso joined the British team. Although the Spaniard is the oldest driver on the grid, he still has an immense passion for the sport and the power to drive for hours during testing. The two-time world champion must have certainly helped Aston Martin head into the new season with lots of positive energy.

At the end of the first day of the 2023 F1 pre-season testing, Fernando Alonso was the second-fastest driver, only behind the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. The 41-year-old lap was a 1.32.886, which placed them ahead of both Ferraris. Of course, the true pace of these cars cannot be determined accurately during testing sessions, but the team's pace looks promising.

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F1 commentator believes Aston Martin has a 'secret weapon' that will help them

F1 commentator Ted Kravitz praised Aston Martin's car launch event and spoke about how Dan Fallows, the team's new chief director, will be instrumental in making a good 2023 car for them. He also mentioned how Fallows was at Red Bull prior to Aston Martin and how he has immense experience of how to work in a top team and develop a championship-winning car. Kravitz said:

“[It was a] very good launch. Very nicely done. No frills, just getting the drivers on. Hearing from Dan Fallows, the new technical director. Dan Fallows is their secret weapon. He’s come from Red Bull. He knows all the secrets from Red Bull, was part of a Red Bull tug of love, wasn’t he? They didn’t want to let him leave and they actually had to go [down the] legal [route] for a moment in order to allow him to move.”

Dan Fallows knew so much about Red Bull that he had some problems leaving the team to join a new one, simply because the Austrian-British team was holding him back.