Fernando Alonso plays down Aston Martin's top speed deficit in Bahrain: ‘It depends how you set up the car’

Fernando Alonso has downplayed Aston Martin's pace deficit on the straights at the Bahrain GP and said that their performance depends on different wing configurations used at various tracks.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, the Spanish driver said that it was very early in the season to speculate about the performance limit and stressed the importance of the car's setup.

"I think that’s also a part of the rear wing choices you make," Fernando Alonso said. "So we could put a Monza rear wing and go fastest on the straights in Bahrain. So as I said, it depends on how you setup the car, it’s very early in the season, we don’t have all the parts available."

"Some of the setup you do as well you have to take some compromises for every team. Maybe Ferrari will wish to have a bigger rear wing in Bahrain or whatever, just to have less top speed and grip in the corners. But maybe you don’t fabricate that rear wing until Monaco. So there are always still things that we don’t know from anybody."

Acknowledging the limited testing time and reference points available this season to determine their pace, Fernando Alonso believes the free practice session will be the real test for most teams when it comes to setups.

"We just focus on ourselves, there is a challenge in front of us here in Jeddah and in Australia to see how the car operates. Different winters in the past we have been testing in Barcelona and Bahrain, so we have had two references, and (in 2023) we only have one because we tested in Bahrain and we raced in Bahrain. So tomorrow is going to be a test day for may teams including us, trying to know the car in a different circuit and how it operates."

The former Alpine driver stressed that Aston Martin's car still needs to be tested at various tracks to determine its potential.

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Fernando Alonso feels Aston Martin's leap in performance is the biggest he has ever seen

While lauding Ferrari and Brawn GP for making tremendous progress in the past, Fernando Alonso said that Aston Martin's improvement in the preseason is the biggest he has ever witnessed in his career.

Fernando Alonso highlighted Ferrari's leap in performances over the winter between the 2021 and 2022 season and mentioned Brawn GP for their title wins in 2009.

"Yeah sure, Ferrari in 2020, they were very bad and then in 2021, but the following year, last year, they were fighting for the championship. They won two out of the first three grands prix of the year. So Ferrari made that huge step last year. Brawn GP obviously."

However, with nearly two seconds of progress from last season, the double world champion believes Aston Martin’s leap in performance is the biggest he has witnessed without a regulation change involved.

"With non regulation change (Aston Martin), this is the biggest one. All the others were with a regulation change but this one is with the same regulations plus the cost cap. So it is very difficult to do something like that. But we have very talented people in the team so you know so far, it has been a good start and hopefully only the start.”

Aston Martin has shaved off almost two seconds of lap time since last March. The Silverstone-based team has poached technical personnel from Mercedes and Red Bull, and have implemented a completely new design concept for their 2023 challenger.

The AMR23 has only shown a fraction of its potential in Bahrain and assuming it will be further developed as the season progresses, even better performances can be expected.

Fernando Alonso finished behind the two Red Bulls to clinch a podium finish in Bahrain, his first since the Qatar GP in 2021.