"Fernando was the one maximizing that potential": F1 pundit raves about Fernando Alonso's debut season with Aston Martin

Sky Sports F1 Pundit Karun Chandhok recently said that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso maximized the potential of the AMR23 this year.

The Spanish driver finished P4 in the championship, level on points with Charles Leclerc but ahead on countback given he has more podium finishes in the season.

The Aston Martin driver was also the only one challenging the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the early part of the season.

While appearing on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Karun Chandhok said that despite Aston Martin's P5 finish in the championship, Fernando Alonso extracted every bit of performance from the car. He said:

"Fernando was the one maximizing the potential of that car. He started the season really strongly, on average in the first half, he was 0.5% behind the Red Bull and that's a huge gain as last year they were 2.06% off. But he was the one maximizing that potential."

He added:

"They sort of lost performance relative to the opposition from Spain onwards and there was a lot of communication around the front-wing regulations impacting the Aston Martin but from Spain, the average quali delta slips to 0.8%. But still, Fernando, in races like Holland, he was there and got the podium."

---

Fernando Alonso reviews his debut season with Aston Martin F1

Fernando Alonso is delighted with his "incredible" debut season with Aston Martin in 2023, given the limited expectations he had when he joined the team last year.

Speaking with the team's official website, Fernando Alonso said:

"It was an incredible season. And, probably 12 months ago, 10 months ago even, when we launched the car, we were not expecting to be in this position. It has been an incredible journey. From a driver's point of view, it’s been a pleasure to see the determination and the focus in the performance that we witnessed this year from Aston Martin."

He added:

The AMR23 was fast straight away but it is a very demanding sport, very competitive, so we had to keep developing the car and keep focusing on the performance. It was a very intense season."

Given a year under his belt with the Silverstone outfit, it will be interesting to see how the Spanish driver proceeds with them in the 2024 season as they will have 12 months of experience adjusting to their expectations.