impressive comeback maximum verstappen from the ninth position to imposing his law Miami and above all, the way he achieved victory once again underlined. tremendous superiority Red Bull taking the world by storm Five races competed in 2023He is second in the championship, 14 points behind, with three wins for Max and two for teammate Checo Pérez.
The energy drink team has been unbeatable since last summer when Ferrari lost power, and the gaps have widened this season. Every pass Verstappen made in Miami was a reality check for the team. F1 anxiously seeing how it could lose all the excitement of the championship ahead of time. The only person who can fix this for now is Fernando Alonso, Despite admitting that the Red Bulls are playing in another league, he’s had his best moment and has become the racing’s biggest entertainer this year.
But they come crooked. And especially those in Monaco. On the streets of the Principality, Alonso and Aston Martin will have a golden opportunity to break Red Bull’s streak and make history with Asturian’s long-awaited 33rd victory. “There are some circuits where this combination of driver and this car can be magical,” said Mike Krack, boss of Aston Martin in Australia, pointing to two of the next three races on the calendar: Monaco and Barcelona.
Fernando also reminded Verstappen yesterday. In a heated conversation before the podium ceremony, the winner in Miami reminded Alonso that he had missed his predictions: “You said I was going to beat you on lap 25… and I think it was lap 14.” Fernando followed the roll call, but with a laugh, he warned: “It will be different in Monaco.”
European treble
Alonso said good-bye to Miami, but made it clear that he wasn’t content with just getting on the podium: “Everything went well and now we’re going to the trio of Imola, Monaco and Barcelona and we hope to continue the streak.” . A podium at the start of the season was incredible, but now we want more, maybe second place… but Red Bulls are unbreakable, very fast… maybe we have a chance in Monaco or Barcelona,” he insisted.
The strong points of the AMR23 are the car’s good performance in slow corners, with little deterioration in traction and braking. Alonso has always been on the podium this year on very different tracks and conditions, with the exception of Baku, where Aston Martin had a lot of trouble installing a new low-load rear wing.
Red Bull’s top speed makes them almost inaccessible on long straight tracks like Imola (May 21). although the first major improvement pack is right there aston martin (and also from Mercedes). On the other hand, a winding city circuit like Monaco could be far more favorable for Alonso, who won twice in the Principality (with a 2006 Renault and a 2007 McLaren).
Aston Martin’s manager Dan Fallows believes his former team Red Bull will lose most of their advantage on the streets of the Principality: “If you do a good qualifying lap, you may have options, because that track neutralizes distances the fastest.” I can’t say for sure we will win, but Monaco is always a bit of a lottery and we like risk.”
At Circuit de Barcelona, top speed lapses can punish them and even more with the configuration change and removal of the last trim, but those from Silverstone rely on another key element: the high temperatures expected in Montmeló could turn into high tire deterioration on 4 June. . And if we add to this factor the fact of running in the stands in his house full of fans, then Alonso’s motivation and with it his aspirations will be maximum.