27 February 2023 , 21:16
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Aston Martin showed stronger race pace than Ferrari during a pre-season testing simulation, Fernando Alonso has declared.
The Silverstone-based team was the unlikely star of testing in Bahrain at the end of last week. Just three days of running allowed little room for too many conclusions to be drawn, but the general consensus is that Aston Martin's new car is looking strong.
That will be music to the ears of Alonso, who gambled on his new team when he chose to leave Alpine at the end of last season. The French outfit finished fourth in the standings, well ahead of his new employers, but it seems Aston Martin may have made a significant performance leap.
Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz thinks they might be the third quickest on the grid, ahead of Mercedes. He said: "That's to do with Fernando Alonso's race run. Aston Martin have Red Bull worried from day one, Adrian Newey mentioned them in the teams that he's concerned about. The car is essentially good and has some nice ideas."
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack has played down talk about his team, insisting: "I think it's very, very difficult on such a test to make a proper judgement... It is nice to have good long runs, but still you need to be really put them into the right context and let's not start dreaming."
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But, speaking at a promotional event after testing, Alonso allowed himself to dream a little. The Spaniard was videoed telling fans: "On the last test day, for example, we did a race simulation. Then we did 57 laps, the same thing we are going to do this week in Bahrain.
Alonso thinks Aston Martin might even have Ferrari beat for race pace (Getty Images)"We put fuel in for those 57 laps and did the full race with the full set-up, even changing tyres. At the same time, Ferrari were doing the same programme as us with the same fuel for the race, same stops – and we were slightly faster."
But Alonso has also admitted that his team's preparations for the new season have been hampered by the absence of his team-mate. Lance Stroll suffered a wrist injury in a cycling accident and is a major doubt for the race in Bahrain this weekend, with Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich on standby if the Canadian is not fit.
"We missed him because some of my comments and my feelings about the car, we never knew if it was just me in a new team and a new car, or is it an Aston Martin thing that Lance could have spotted," said the Spaniard. "We cannot do it without him so I hope he can come back very soon."