Fernando Alonso

Max Verstappen eased to a dominant win at the Bahrain GP as Red Bull left their competition behind to start the 2023 Formula 1 season, while Fernando Alonso ...

For Ferrari, all appeared to be going to plan - running comfortably in third and fourth - before Leclerc, who had his engine battery replaced before the race, ground to a halt on Lap 40. The race coming the day after team boss Toto Wolff remarkably admitted that the car concept would have to be changed for Mercedes to compeitiive again, Hamilton and Russell were only really in the fight after Aston Martin's scruffy start and couldn't keep the green cars at bay in the race. Again, it was a feisty battle - and there was a slight touch after a scrap through Turn Four - but Alonso again dazzled through the twisty middle sector before getting ahead of Sainz on the straight. Mercedes capitalised to get ahead of Aston Martin after Alonso and Stroll's first-lap scuffles but the double world champion got ahead of Russell on Lap 13, and then superbly hunted down Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas was 'best of the rest' for Alfa Romeo ahead of Pierre Gasly in the Alpine and the impressive Alex Albon for Williams. In the end, Hamilton and Russell had to settle for fifth and seventh in their underperforming W14 cars.

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso hailed a perfect start to life at the team as he celebrated an unreal podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc's engine demise in the back of his Ferrari promoted Alonso to fourth before he raced past Carlos Sainz in the other scarlet car to take third with 11 laps to go. Hamilton survived, but only for two laps before Alonso threw his Aston Martin down Hamilton's inside with a supreme move at Turn 10 - a sharp left-hander. "Even a podium was not on the radar.

Fernando Alonso came third in the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen won the Formula One season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position Sunday with Sergio Perez in second and Fernando Alonso third.

Ferrari had changed an engine battery before the race but that didn’t stop Leclerc from making a dismal start to the year after such a frustrating season in 2022. “What Aston Martin did over the winter to have the second best car on race one is just unreal.” Verstappen started from the pole with Perez alongside him. “I’m very happy to finally win a race here.” Alonso overtook Hamilton on Lap 37 but then slid wide as Hamilton reclaimed position. What have you done?” a jubilant Alonso told his team.

Max Verstappen won, but Fernando Alonso was the star of the first race of the F1 season in Bahrain.

I loved every second of it, I loved the on-track battles. Bahrain has always been unkind to McLaren and it's hard to imagine the team being that bad all season. [Charles Leclerc](http://www.espn.com/rpm/driver?seriesId=6&driverId=5498) never looked close to challenging either Red Bull but was comfortably third until his car ground to a halt 40 laps from the finish. Alonso has been very complimentary of Stroll since joining -- saying the Canadian, who is yet to win an F1 race, is a future world champion -- and he continued that after the race despite their near-miss. "Obviously there was quite a lot of work on that but we need to keep working as first race and first reliability problem... Alonso and Aston Martin might not be capable of winning races on outright pace, but this is the best car the Spaniard has had in almost a decade. Hamilton deserves credit for a great undercut which saw him keep the position at Turn 4, but the pace of the Aston Martin was clear to see. However, it was difficult not to think this year will be more of the same old Ferrari given how its opener unfolded. "We were very strong in testing, strong in free practice and strong in the race. The pair also collided in Belgium last year, after which Alonso suggested that Hamilton only knows how to race when he's in the lead. "I think the last few occasions I was competitive, like Canada last year, it was a wet qualifying ... Alonso's podium on his Aston Martin debut not only showed the excitement around the team's car was justified (if not slightly overblown at points this week), but has also seen one of the most talented drivers of the modern Formula One era propelled back into a competitive position.

Coming out of pre-season testing ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, expectations began to grow regarding Aston Martin. Despite the absence of driver Lance ...

The team leaves Bahrain and heads to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sitting in second place, behind Red Bull at the top of the Constructors’ table: you will get a step back and you will get back to reality. I think in Bahrain we were strong in things that maybe we don’t find in Jeddah and Australia. I think the aim in 2023 was to get in the mix with the midfield, maybe leading that midfield and get close to the top three teams eventually.” It was a battle that Alonso eventually won, and when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc retired early, it opened the door for Alonso’s podium finish. If we are strong in the next two races, I think we will have a very good 2023.” This is a little bit of a surprise, but we are extremely proud, happy with the job done at Silverstone in the factory,” added Alonso. However, both drivers shook off the early incident and began to power their way up the field. That saw Alonso, who qualified in fifth, slide back into sixth place. Coming out of pre-season testing ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, expectations began to grow regarding Aston Martin. The dream start looked impossible early in the race, when Stroll drove into the back of Alonso in Turn 4 on the opening lap of the race. “Even a podium maybe was not on the radar in 2023, and we found ourselves with the second best car today in Bahrain, of the whole weekend, just behind Red Bull.

El piloto español Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) se ha subido al podio en este domingo en la carrera del Gran Premio de Baréin, primera cita del Mundial de ...

En su primera carrera con Aston Martin, el asturiano ha cumplido con creces las expectativas y ha confirmado que este año sí tiene un coche para poder luchar en el campeonato. "Estamos contentos con la gestión que estás haciendo de los neumáticos", comunicaban al asturiano desde el garaje de Aston Martin. El vigente campeón del mundo, Verstappen, se llevó una nueva victoria en medio del aplastante dominio de los coches de la marca energética, con 'Checo' Pérez terminando en segunda posición.

In his first race for Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso finished in third place in the Bahrain Grand Prix. It is his 99th career podium.

33 — the “mission” his fans have coined for this year on social media — that is the next step for him and Aston Martin. With Charles Leclerc out of the race due to an engine failure, Alonso was now fourth and quickly closing on the second Ferrari of Sainz, who was struggling with tire degradation. Alonso spent the opening stint trailing both Mercedes cars but was quickly putting pressure on Russell, who had a struggling Hamilton in front of him. It all so nearly ended in tears for Alonso and Aston Martin on the very first lap. Alonso didn’t make the best of starts, slipping behind Hamilton — and then felt a tap from behind as Stroll ran deep at Turn 4. We’ve since heard plenty from Alonso about his belief in the vision of Aston Martin and its owner, Lawrence Stroll, who has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into building the next great F1 team.

The 41-year-old Spaniard feels his third-place finish at the season-opener would have been “unthinkable” eight months ago.

“Let’s go,” screamed Alonso in delight. Hamilton survived, but only for two laps before Alonso threw his Aston Martin down Hamilton’s inside with a supreme move at Turn 10 – a sharp left-hander. “Even a podium was not on the radar.

Fernando Alonso revelled in an unexpectedly bright start to his time with Aston Martin after securing third place in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

"It's a terrible time to crash on a bicycle and doctors were telling me maybe Australia, maybe Baku. The aim in 2023 was to be in the mix in the midfield, maybe leading the midfield and getting close to the top three teams eventually. "It's been an insane journey," Stroll told Sky Sports. I've got full trust in our team, they know what to do, so hopefully we can improve." This is just a starting point, not the finished car. "It's the perfect start for this project," Alonso said.

El español de Aston Martin finalizó tercero y protagonizó grandes batallas con Lewis Hamilton y Carlos Sainz.

Hicimos gran cantidad de horas en el simulador para agrupar las ideas de lo que iba a necesitar el auto. Finalizada la carrera, el campeón 2005-2006 no podía ocultar su felicidad: “Red Bull y Ferrari mantuvieron el desarrollo y lo perfeccionaron; para nosotros es un auto nuevo y encontraremos muchas prestaciones en el futuro. [Fernando Alonso](/deporte-motor/piloto/_/id/348/fernando-alonso) anunció, en agosto de 2022, su salida del equipo Alpine para mudarse a Aston Martin, la decisión parecía, cuanto menos, extraña.

El español volvió al podio a los 41 años, mientras que el neerlandés, vigente doble campeón mundial, comenzó de la mejor manera la nueva temporada: “Tenemos ...

Alonso was in a jovial mood after returning to the Formula 1 podium at the age of 41 in Bahrain, and doing so after an eye-catching battle on track with ...

"I think I passed Lewis into Turn 10 and Carlos into Turn 11. But, yeah, we need to see that because obviously, we will love to pass just on the main straight like everyone does." "He got me in Turn Four, I was in front of him but he managed to pass me there." The overtaking spots were strange, but Alonso explained that he had to pick different places to make a move as his car was lacking in straight line speed. [Aston Martin](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/aston-martin-f1) lived up to the pre-season hype in the first race of 2023, upsetting the balance of power that has become established at the top of [Formula 1](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/). [Fernando Alonso](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/fernando-alonso) said he "didn't like" the fact [Lewis Hamilton](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/lewis-hamilton) was fighting back as they tussled on track during the [Bahrain Grand Prix](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/bahrain-grand-prix).

Fernando Alonso had a great time racing the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz in Bahrain, after all "I ended up in front".

And yeah, I was happy.” And I think I passed Lewis into Turn 10 and Carlos into Turn 11. That’s always the same thing in any battle,” he added. But, yeah, we need to see that because obviously, we will love to pass just on the main straight like everyone does.” “It was great, a lot of respect between us,” Alonso told Sky Sports. “And then with Carlos, it was close into Turn 10 again, he closed the door, and then I have a better exit into Turn 11.

Aston Martin were the surprise package as the team secured a podium in Bahrain.

To have Lance in the car missing 250 laps of testing that everyone else had and to deliver the performance he did with a broken toe and a couple of banged-up wrists is impressive.” However, it appears all tension between the pair was forgotten as Alonso praised the Canadian for his performance after coming back from injury. Aston Martin didn’t reveal the information, with Alonso getting his first look at the culprit in the cooldown room.

Just when we feared the 2023 F1 season might be a bit predictable, along comes Fernando Alonso to get us hopeful of another year full of surprises.

The great Alonso is back in a seat that means business. Turns out he has the right car. Moving to Alonso could be F1's answer to Dorian Gray. That all changed when Fernando Alonso arrived in Bahrain. Indeed, just last week there was a sense the vibe around F1 had all gone a bit cold.

Sergio Perez took a dig at Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso when he referred to the AMR-23 as a Red Bull car after the 2023 Bahrain GP.

Heading into the opening race of the season, Red Bull was the favorite to deliver the strongest car. Alonso, meanwhile, started the race from fifth, and fought his way up to finish third. Ahead of the opening race, it was Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko who threw shade at Alonso and Aston Martin. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, however, took a dig at him and the British team, accusing them of copying Red Bull’s design. Aston Martin did not react to these comments, but they are surely accusations that won’t be taken kindly back at the base. The two-time world champion finished P3 in his debut race for Aston Martin, and earned his 99th career podium finish.

Red Bull dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend but received a fright from the much improved Aston Martin team.

It's flattering to see the resemblance of that car to ours so it was great to see the three of them on the podium." It comes after Aston Martin stole Red Bull engineer Dan Fallows who joined at the start of the 2022 campaign. The Mexican seemed to suggest that Aston Martin had copied Red Bull’s designs after the British manufacturer secured a shock podium in Bahrain.

FormulaNerds.com — Latest News — Despite having an outstanding Bahrain Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso had nothing but praise for his 'hero' Lance Stroll.

He even went on to say that Stroll should be getting on the podium “very soon”. When he finished the race, crossing the line in P3, he got on the team radio to celebrate. Many were quick to comment on how this incident wouldn’t be good for the team’s relationship, however, Alonso seemed unbothered by it. He beat George Russell in the battle for sixth place and was catching Hamilton towards the end. In order to clinch the podium, Alonso battled with his old rival- Lewis Hamilton and fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz. Fernando Alonso was racing like he was 15 years ago and impressed everyone with a podium.

Almost seven months to the day of Alonso's Bahrain podium triumph, Sebastian Vettel had just announced he would be retiring from the sport, freeing up his Aston ...