Alonso: Our feet remain on the ground

Fernando Alonso sprang a surprise at the 2023 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain, beating Ferrari and Mercedes to claim third place behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, confirming Aston Martin's promising form from pre-season testing.

But the 2005 and 2006 F1 Champion is not getting ahead of himself, patient to see how his AMR23 fares over the coming races, starting with Saudi Arabia this weekend, before he can be confident of its pace.

Speaking in Aston Martin's press release, previewing this weekend's grand prix in Jeddah, Alonso said: "The car felt very good in Bahrain, and we enjoyed our weekend scoring our first podium of the season.

"But we have now shifted all our focus to this weekend and Jeddah. It will be a very different challenge there as it is a completely different circuit to what we experienced in the opening race.

"We spent two weeks in Bahrain, and all became very familiar with the circuit and conditions so the learning curve from this Friday will be a lot steeper," he explained, referring to pre-season testing in Bahrain.

He added: "Realistically I do not think it will be until after Australia that we will know better where the overall performance stands, as by then we will have had three very different race weekends on varied circuits in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

"Our feet remain on the ground and hard work is needed to maintain this start and try to get another strong result this weekend," the Spaniard concluded.

Lance Stroll climbed into the cockpit of his AMR23 in Bahrain, still not fully recovered from his pre-season cycling accident, but delivered an impressive performance qualifying eighth and racing to sixth in the race, also showing what a handy piece of kit the 2023 Aston Martin car is.

"I was really pleased with our performance in Bahrain, so we need to do our best to bring that positive momentum into the second race of the year in Saudi Arabia," Stroll said.

"As always, the first few races of the season are about learning the intricacies of the new car. The circuit in Jeddah is completely different to that in Bahrain, so it offers us an invaluable opportunity to collect more data and deepen our understanding of the AMR23.

"Jeddah Corniche Circuit is an incredibly fast track, and the fastest street circuit on the calendar, so it is great fun to drive but also a real challenge.

"We have seen Safety Cars on both occasions that we have raced in Saudi Arabia, so we need to ensure we are ready to capitalise on any opportunities that come our way," the Canadian concluded.