"Realistically we should aim for top-5, top-6" - Fernando Alonso not targeting podium despite securing P3 at 2022 F1 Belgian GP qualifying

In his first Grand Prix weekend since announcing his move to Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso set the sixth-fastest pace in qualifying, but will be starting the race on the second row in P3 as Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and teammate Esteban Ocon will be taking engine penalties and starting at the back of the grid.

The Alpine driver had a decent session this afternoon, having outperformed both the Mercedes cars and the McLaren of Lando Norris, and is set to start the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix behind pole-sitter Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. However, given Mercedes' proven race pace over the last couple of weekends prior to the summer break, the Alpine driver admitted that he expects no better than a top-five or a top-six result this weekend.

In a post-qualifying media interaction, Fernando Alonso said:

“Feels great, P2 in Canada, P3 here. Hopefully, we have a clean race and can maximize the position. It was a good day.”

He continued:

“Realistically we should aim for top-five, top-six. We’re starting third but Mercedes normally is very strong on the race pace so I think they could eventually be faster and Max [Verstappen] even starting at the back is super fast and he will come eventually in the race.”

Championship leader Max Verstappen set the fastest pace in Saturday's qualifying session, but will be starting the main race in P15 after taking on a penalty for new engine parts.

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"The project is very attractive" - Fernando Alonso on his move to Aston Martin

At the beginning of the summer break, Fernando Alonso announced that he would be leaving Alpine at the end of the 2022 season to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin for the 2023 season and beyond. This news shocked not only the rest of the F1 community, but also his very own team, who claimed to be certain that the two-time world champion had the intention of extending his contract with the French outfit.

In a press conference ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, when asked about the reasoning behind his decision to move, the Spaniard explained that Aston Martin seemed like an attractive choice for the future. He said:

“Well, yeah, it was for two or three days, then it changed, there was more news coming. But yeah, I had this possibility, the phone call from Aston after Sebastian [Vettel] announced that he was stopping at the end of the year. So yeah, at that point we sit down and we go to this agreement.”

“I think the project is very attractive. Obviously there is a lot of investment going on in the last few years, a lot of new people came to the team, very talented engineers, designers, new facilities in Silverstone. So… I don’t know, I felt that it was a nice project for the future. They were extremely happy to join forces and to have this possibility to grow up together. We felt that it was the right thing to do.”

Fernando Alonso currently stands tenth in the Driver Standings with 41 points to his name.