Fernando Alonso states current Aston Martin F1 car is 'very basic'

Aston Martin lived up to pre-season expectations and may have even surpassed them when Fernando Alonso fought through the grid to finish on the podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alonso looked in splendid form at the Bahrain International Circuit, easing past seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to finish third.

Despite a strong start, the Spaniard is confident the team can get even better with development throughout the year. He said (via motorsport.com):

“Sure, we need to wait for Jeddah, Australia, very different tracks, so I'm curious to see if we can keep this form in different circuits. But, on the other hand, I think the car that we have now is just a very basic car that we launched and we start the season with this completely new concept.”

He added:

“I think there is a lot more to come in terms of development with this project, so I'm optimistic for that.”

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack stated that the team went aggressive on their targets in the winter. While their ambitious targets weren't easy to achieve, he expressed satisfaction with the results. He said:

“We went aggressive in the targets that we had for the car. Obviously, it's not always easy to achieve, but our team has managed great things there. It's much, much easier to develop from this base than to develop from the base we had last year. We have our development plan in place, but the others have a plan in place as well. It could well be that if you develop at the same rate you stay where you are, so let's see where we get to.”

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"I had to sacrifice other things in life" - Fernando Alonso on his passion for F1

Fernando Alonso disclosed that he had to make sacrifices in his personal life before making a return to Formula 1.

Alonso left F1 in 2018, before returning to the sport in 2021. Speaking about his hiatus from the sport and eventual return, the Spaniard said:

"I keep motivated always to compete, even when I tried to stop Formula 1 in 2018, I couldn't make it and I was in different cars every weekend, with the World Endurance Championship, or Dakar, or Indy or whatever."

He added:

"When I came back to Formula 1, for sure, I decided that I had to sacrifice other things in life and dedicate myself for another period of time, maybe three, maybe five, maybe seven years to the sport. There are no secrets, you dedicate your life to your passion and you know your body better as well, so you train better, eat better and so make your career longer."

Fernando Alonso will be looking to build on his commendable start to the season with an impressive showing at the second race weekend in Jeddah.