Aston Martin had a successful season, against many expectations.
The team, under the leadership of Mike Krack, finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, with its drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, in fourth and tenth position respectively in the Drivers’.
The Spaniard was P3 for a good chunk of the campaign, with Aston running 2nd in the Constructors’ Championship for a while as well. However, they fell away as the season went on and lost out to Mercedes, Ferrari and a rampaging McLaren in the end.
Alonso spoke about Aston Martin’s season, congratulating the entire team and describing a year that exceeded expectations, bringing them just behind the top teams in the Championship.
“It has been a historical season for Aston Martin, and for myself, eight podiums, more than 200 points, nearly 300 for the team. Twelve months ago, this was unthinkable.
“This is the best season ever for the team as well, with whatever name they had before, so an incredible year to remember.
“The expectations were low, so we have exceeded expectations this year. Maybe next year it’s the opposite, the expectations will be very high, so we have some pressure on our shoulders.
“This is Formula 1, not a charity event. We have to have the pressure to deliver.”
Photo Credit: Aston Martin Aramaco Cognizant F1 Team
The championship started with three podiums and three third places in the first eight races for the Spanish driver, signalling the beginning of high expectations for the team to rise above the struggling Mercedes and Ferrari. Alonso tried to keep the level high throughout the entire season and was disappointed with fifth place overall.
“The fifth in the constructors’ hurts a little bit because I think we were better than that. We were hoping for better than that at the beginning of the year.
“In the drivers’, to finish fourth is completely unexpected, completely unreal, and to fight with the guys we were fighting.
“If you are fifth in the constructors’, normally you should be ninth and 10th in the drivers’, so it’s been a dream season for many people in Aston Martin, including myself.
“For me, 2012 and this season are the best in my career, a position I couldn’t ever have imagined at the beginning of the year with the car performance we had (from last year).”
A new management, the departure of the factory for a new project has perhaps given the final push to the team, which, according to the driver, must work towards a breakthrough ahead of the 2024 season.
“This is the first step of hopefully good progress in the team. We always said this was year one of Aston Martin being competitive, a lot of changes in the team, the new factory, all of these things that we’ve been saying for a long time.
“So if next year we take a step backward that will be bad, so we need to keep moving forward.
“We finished fifth in the constructors’, but we need to improve on that next year – fourth, third, second, whatever will be welcome.
“And in my case, after eight podiums this year, hopefully, I can do something similar next.”
