Fernando Alonso Goes Fast in Bahrain: He Is Good, But the Car Probably Helped

Before the debate starts on whether this is just a fluke caused by Alonso’s talent or an actual improvement, a disclaimer is due and the hint is in the name. This is just the pre-season testing, a chance for teams to sort out issues rather than fully test their raw pace.

Alonso did, however, set really good lap times not just on the first day around the track, but also during the second. During the Thursday session, the Spaniard was just 29 thousands of a second behind reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen's Red Bull, Albeit, that was toward the end of the session, on a rubbered-in track, but he did it again on Friday, ending up third on the time sheets, just half a second behind Guanyou Zhou, who took the top spot.

This is a consistent pace out of the two-time World Champion and it cannot be ignored. Despite Alonso being known to go above and beyond in sub-par machinery, it is impossible to say whether that is the only reason for the performance of the AMR23.

While it does sound unreal for a team that was languishing in seventh place just last year to have made up so much ground, its potential merits cannot just be dismissed. It most certainly would be a misleading statement, especially considering the money and man-hours the team threw at this project.

Aston Martin did invest heavily in its facilities, which is exactly what drew Alonso to the team in the first place. The team also has another ace up its sleeve. The 2023 car is reportedly 95% new and the first one developed under the watchful eye of Dan Fallows, former chief of aerodynamics for a little team called Red Bull.

His expertise was surely invaluable in this endeavor considering he comes from the Adrian Newey school of design. For those still unaware, Newey is the aero genius who took Red Bull to four consecutive world championships in the V8 era.

We can also make an estimate of Aston’s gains based on the performance of other teams. There is no reason to believe everyone else was sandbagging and Alonso was the only driver to showcase the car’s true pace.

That rings even more true when looking at the design of the AMR23. The car is no longer just a copy of what other teams have brought, but sports some innovations of its own. The side pods are the most noticeable as some of the most aggressive design approaches on the grid.

There is also the leading edge of the floor, towards the front of the car, where Aston was the first team to introduce winglets meant to help control the airflow. Add to that the raised shoulder design, specific to Mercedes, and a flatter nose, and the picture for the upcoming season becomes clearer.

The AMR23 takes design elements from other cars on the grid as well as adds its own. And under the guidance of Dan Fallows, it is likely that these bits and pieces work well together to provide some decent performance gains compared to last year.