Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin already shaking up F1's status quo

Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin are a year ahead of schedule in their bid to become Formula One championship contenders.

The team finished seventh with 55 points in the 2022 season but have made a significant leap forward this year, with Alonso securing three consecutive podium finishes.

"I was hoping 2023 to be a learning season and in 2024 maybe to be challenging Ferrari and Mercedes and things like that," said Alonso.

"But we challenged them in Bahrain in race one so obviously now everything looks more optimistic."

The team aims to challenge for world titles in the long term rather than podiums.

"Now we have to deliver. This is something we will see very soon," he added.

"From Baku, Imola, Barcelona, the teams will start to bring upgrades to the car and we need to also be a top team in that regard.

"On-track, but also off-track we need to learn many things throughout this season to be a contender in 2024 hopefully."

Alonso cautions that Aston Martin's progress will be tested once rival teams begin introducing upgrades and the team's in-season development rate is evaluated, starting with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The pace of Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll's AMR23 has allowed the team to change their approach and have more breathing space to get through Q1 and Q2, which was previously unrealistic for Stroll and former partner Sebastian Vettel in 2022.