Alonso: We exceeded expectations because expectations were low

Aston Martin delivered a surprise to the F1 world at the start of the 2023 season as their AMR23 started its life as the second fastest car behind the Red Bull RB19, in the hands of Alonso of course.

And the two-time F1 Champion grasped the opportunity with both hands, finishing on the podium five times in the first six races.

However as the season progressed, Aston Martin fell behind with development and were overtaken by Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren, the second half of the season particularly tough on them.

I don't think it's a secret to say that those times are always tough. There isn't a magic recipe for keeping the motivation high and being happy. This is a sport where there are always frustrations, bad times, low times, and people sometimes struggle to hide their disappointment – and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just part of the sport and part of life.

In an interview with Aston Martin's Official Website, Alonso was quizzed on how he and the team dealt with tough times and maintained their motivation.

He said: "I don't think it's a secret to say that those times are always tough. There isn't a magic recipe for keeping the motivation high and being happy.

"This is a sport where there are always frustrations, bad times, low times, and people sometimes struggle to hide their disappointment – and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just part of the sport and part of life.

"The important thing during the low weekends was to understand what the problem was – go deep into the analysis of the car, of what we could have done differently if we repeated the weekend. These kinds of things, those exercises, made the team stronger and it was good learning for the future.

"We were taking positives out of those difficult weekends. It was nice to see the team united in that objective," the Spaniard maintained.

Following the success of 2023, Alonso insisted he doesn't expect much to change on the way or the team tackle the 2024 F1 season.

"I don't think it's going to change much because there are too many unknowns every season – anything can happen in Formula One," he reckoned.

"When we hit the track in winter testing or race one next year, I think we will see how things are and be very open with whatever targets we set for the championship. We will hopefully be competitive again, fighting for regular points and podiums, hopefully for our first win – that would be the dream – but we cannot underestimate the challenge.

"We exceeded expectations this year because expectations were low," Alonso insisted. "That's why this season feels amazing. If we set expectations too high – unrealistically high – there's a danger of the opposite happening."

Aston Martin finished the 2023 F1 season fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 280 points, Alonso scoring 206 on his own as he finished fourth in the Drivers' Standings.