Fernando Alonso earmarks two races that could dictate how Aston Martin's 2023 F1 season pans out

Fernando Alonso has said that Aston Martin's true ambition for the season will be more clear when the team starts bringing upgrades to the car.

The British team, like every other team on the grid, will bring their first major upgrade of the season in one of the first European races. Alonso claimed the races in Imola and Baku in the coming weeks might change the competitive feel of the AMR23.

Speaking to the media during a pre-race press conference, he said:

"From Baku and Imola onwards, the teams will start swapping parts on the cars. Maybe that will change how competitive you feel. So let's see. Hopefully, we can keep our pace."

He also spoke about trying to get the 33rd win of his career in Australia, adding:

"There's a lot happening on social media right now, about the [possible] 33rd win and how that was 'el plan' two years ago. Everyone's doing something with the 33rd now. Hopefully, we'll get that number of wins realized. And then Let's aim for 34."

---

"We are extremely happy with the performance of the car obviously" - Fernando Alonso

Ahead of the Australian GP this weekend, Fernando Alonso said that he was very pleased with the competitiveness and performance of his car.

Speaking to F1.com, he said:

“At the moment, we are extremely happy with the performance of the car obviously. We were better than expected, especially in Jeddah – I think it was a nice surprise, so we arrive here with a good level of confidence. But… after a few events, from now on, I think the cars will change a lot in a few areas, and a few developments, so let’s see if we can keep this pace.”

Since his late Jeddah penalty drama, the track organizers have made some changes to the grid box at the Albert Park circuit. Reacting to this latest development, Alonso said:

"The center line... I don't think so, because you approach the box looking sideways, so you're not looking forward, so that's the biggest difficulty. The 20 centimeters will help I guess. There's going to be some circuits, maybe Monaco or Imola, that you start a little bit sideways anyway because, if you don't, you crash if you start straight. We'll have to see how we apply the penalties and things like that in those races.

It would be fascinating to see if any other drivers get penalized for the same infringement as Fernando Alonso at Jeddah going forward.