Fernando Alonso warns pole-sitter Sergio Perez of threat at Turn 1 in 2023 Miami GP

Fernando Alonso has warned Miami Grand Prix pole sitter Sergio Perez that he will find himself defending his position as early as Turn 1 on the first lap on Sunday (May 7).

Perez took the third pole of his career in Miami, and a second successive one after Azerbaijan GP, while Alonso will line up next to him in P2 on the grid. That means the two could be fighting for the lead right from the start.

Aston Martin driver Alonso has warned Perez of exactly that, saying that he'll try to get past his Mexican colleague going into turn 1. The Spaniard said (via racefans):

“We will try to pass Checo into turn one, because we love to lead the race, at least for a few laps. And after that we will end up in the position we deserve. If it’s P5, it’s going to be P5. If it’s P7, P7. If it’s another podium it will be fantastic. But I think it’s going to be a tough race.”

Alonso started the season strong, finishing on the podium in three back-to-back races — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia. The Spaniard, though, doesn't believe his front row start in Miami will necessarily translate into another podium finish. He said:

“I don’t think that we have to target a win, especially after how the weekend went. I think even the podium is going to be difficult. But we’ll do our race. We’ve been doing this the whole season, we are in a privileged position, we never expected to be here. So every lap we do, every race lap that we will do tomorrow in these kind of positions is a gift at the moment. I think the team is enjoying it.”

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“We need to keep out-scoring them” - Fernando Alonso on Aston Marin's fight with Mercedes in Miami

While Fernando Alonso with start the Miami GP in P2, his teammate Lance Stroll will line up in P18. Mercedes, meanwhile, find themselves in P6 (George Russell) and P13 (Lewis Hamilton).

Fernando Alonso has called for Aston Martin to capitalize on the opportunity to outscore Mercedes, who are closest to them in the constructors’ championship:

“We will do our race, we will score as many points as possible. Our main competitors, Mercedes, they had a difficult weekend so far, so we need to keep out-scoring them.”

Despite a good qualifying result, Fernando Alonso is not expecting an easy time in the race, with an upgraded Ferrari and a hungry Max Verstappen right behind him. He added:

“We have a strong opposition behind. Ferrari has been very strong this weekend, and in Baku, some upgrades also on their car. Max obviously will come, eventually in the race, quite fast. So a lot of things to take care of in the mirrors.”