Verstappen says Aston Martin’s race win is ‘definitely on the table’ and hopes Alonso can join the fight for the F1 title
Max Verstappen welcomes a potential championship challenge for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin in 2023 after an impressive performance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Building on his and the team’s encouraging pre-season performances, Alonso secured fifth place on the grid at Sakir behind the Red Bull and Ferrari cars before taking the podium on race day with some great overtaking. rice field. While Red Bull drove a comfortable one-two, Verstappen described the Aston Martin AMR23 as a “really powerful package” and did not rule out the possibility of the Spaniard being involved in this year’s title fight.
Asked after Sunday’s race if he thought Alonso was a potential candidate, Verstappen said: “I hope so too for Fernando. He hasn’t been able to compete up front in the last few years. So happy to see him in the first race.
“I think I’ve said it before, but I think Aston Martin really has the spirit and the drive,” he said. They want to win and they’ve hired a lot of good people, so I think things can only get better.
“I think it’s hard to say whether they will be fighting for the championship this year or not, but a race win is definitely on the table. I’m in the same position, 20-40 seconds behind the winner and a few. races and still win 2-3 races a year.
“Sometimes you have a track that really fits your car and everything fits in and you win the race. Sometimes with a little help or luck.” Sitting next to his team-mate at the post-race press conference, Sergio Perez agreed that Alonso and Aston Martin look to be a real threat next season.
“First of all, I’m really happy to see Aston and Fernando here. I think it’s been a tremendous effort and it’s great to see Fernando on the podium in his first race with the team,” he said.
“I think they certainly have a very good car, they will be a contender, for sure, in a few tracks. You know that these seasons in F1 are extremely long, so anything can happen.”