When Alonso compares Aston Martin to… Brawn GP

The surprise of this start of the season, Aston Martin, echoes the feat of the Brawn GP team, 14 years earlier. A parallel which did not escape Fernando Alonso.

Published on 25/03/2023 à 09:39

Dorian Grangier

1 View comments)

When Alonso compares Aston Martin to… Brawn GP

Aston Martin AMR23 is the new Brawn BGP 001? © Florent Gooden / DPPI

Rarely in Formula 1, had we seen such a progression between two seasons. Aston Martin has been shocking the F1 world since the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain. Sixth in the championship in 2022 after a catastrophic start, the Silverstone team (United Kingdom) established itself in 2023 as the 2nd force in the field, with two podiums in as many races. A spectacular comeback carried out during the winter and materialized on the track.

In the recent history of the discipline, examples of such impressive progression are not legion. " In 2020, Ferrari was very bad, even in 2021, then the year afternte [in 2022], they fought for the championship, highlighted Fernando Alonso, author of two podiums for his first two appearances with Aston Martin. They won the first two or three Grands Prix of the year, so Ferrari took a big step last year. [There was also] Brawn GP, ​​it was huge. As far as non-regulatory changes go, [Aston Martin's] is probably the biggest. All the others were linked to a change in regulations. » 

In 2009, Brawn GP shook the world of Formula 1 by winning 6 of the first 7 Grands Prix of the season, despite a very turbulent winter following the departure of Honda. If the comparison of Fernando Alonso seems slightly capillotracted, since Aston Martin has not yet won a race in 2023, the Spaniard highlights the meteoric progress of his team compared to last year, at the same time of the season . 

Alonso praises " vision " by Lawrence Stroll

The feat is all the more impressive as the new regulations are relatively minor this season compared to 2022. The only big change is the height of the floor, raised by 15 millimeters in 2023 to mitigate the rebound phenomenon.

Aston Martin continued its momentum started at the end of last season, where it was the 4th best team in the field, to join the “Top Teams” clan in 2023. “With the cost cap it's very difficult to do something like this, but we have very talented people on the team, assures Fernando Alonso. So far, it’s a good start, and I hope it’s just the beginning.”

The progress of the British team is far from being due to chance: since the acquisition of Lawrence Stroll of the Racing Point team, renamed Aston Martin in 2021, investments and recruitment of talented engineers are starting to bear fruit.  “I think [Lawrence Stroll] has this vision of having a winning team in the near future, whatever it takes, believes Alonso, leading figure in the Aston Martin project. That's why it's nice to have a leader like Lawrence, because you know you have everything behind you and the team is in good hands, whatever their demands. »

ALSO READ > Aston Martin, 2nd force in the field? “You have to be careful,” replies Mike Krack

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

1 View comments)

Read also

Comments

*The space reserved for logged in users. Please connect to be able to respond or post a comment!

1 Comment (s)

25/03/2023 at 02:08 a.m.

“Alonso praises the “vision” of Lawrence Stroll” Fernand of Asturias has really become very “corporate” and it suits him well to compare his 2023 situation with that of Brawn GP in 2009, what a political animal!!

To write a comment