'Outstanding' Alonso Praised By Red Bull's Team Principal

Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 21:00

Fernando Alonso received kudos from Christian Horner as the team principal acknowledged his impressive performances from the previous season.

Aston Martin was named the biggest surprise of the year 2023 by a former F1 driver, Jolyon Palmer, after starting the 2023 season ahead of teams like Mercedes and Ferrari.

However, the team later fell back down the order around the middle of the season. Aston Martin's sudden fall is quite a mystery, but going into 2024, the British team will want to eliminate the shortcomings that pulled them back in towards the end of 2023.

Could Aston Martin be the team that stands up to Red Bull this year? Christian Horner expects them to eliminate the problem that hindered their progress. As quoted by Speedcafe, he said:

"They made a huge step at the beginning of the year, but they really tailed off in the second half. I'm sure they're looking to understand why that happened."

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As McLaren's team principal, Andrea Stella, said, there are currently five teams on the grid equipped to win the World Championship. Aston Martin is one of them.

Besides the modern facilities and huge resources, the team has the most experienced driver on the grid - the two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso. Horner added:

"But they've got big facilities, big resources, and they've recruited a lot of talent into that team, and Fernando was brilliant (last year). He drove fantastically well. For a 42-year-old guy, I thought he was outstanding."

The Spanish Matador broke the record for the most completed seasons in F1 last year as he finished the 20th season in his career that started in 2001.

It was questioned whether the 42-year-old had what it takes to compete in F1, but he maximized Aston Martin's strengths last year and amassed an incredible eight podiums for his team.

At the time of writing this article, Alonso has a contract with Aston Martin that is valid until the end of the season 2024, and sources suggest the team is keen on extending their collaboration with the Spaniard.

While he achieved quite a few podiums last season, Alonso has been waiting for his next win for 11 years already. Would you like to see the Aston Martin driver on the top step of the podium in 2024?