Page 60 - April 2023

Above: It's been a long time coming but in his first and second appearances with the Aston Martin Cognizant racing team
F1 veteran Fernando Alonso has taken a place on the podium in the first two Grand Prix races of the 2023 season. 2023
marks Aston Martin's 110th anniversary producing cars. How sweet it is! image courtesy of HMW Walton-on Thames Aston Martin
Dealership newsletter
B egin as you mean to go on. This season three teams based in England have shown that they plan to take it to

the rest of the F! field. Red Bull continues to set blistering times on the raqce tracks with podium finishes of 1st
and 2nd place alternating between its two drivers, current F1 Champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Seven time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has given the Red Bull car its due, commenting on just how fast it is,
even as he continues to wrestle with the Petronas Mercedes entry. Don't count Hamilton and his teammate the
young British George Russell out, just yet, however. Team principal Toto Wolff is one determined sportsman and
he fully intends to have Petronas back in the winner's circle, saying he is willing to commit to "radical changes" in
the car. If and when Mercedes provides the right car, both Hamilton and Russell can surely provide the talent.
At a press conference Wolff said, "...But this is very simple: the stopwatch never lies, and we see on the data where
we are missing and that needs to be corrected.?

Hamilton and Alonso were once teammates at Petronas Mercedes but the rivalry became so intense that Alonso
left the team after one year. Now, Hamilton, 37, gives his former teammate his due and says that Alonso, the
oldest driver on the F1 grid at 41, is his most talented competitor.
Proving Hamilton's point, for the first time in a very long time, all eyes have turned to the trademark green of the
Aston Martin Cognizant team , Fernando's team. The intense Spainard with a steady touch at last, has a car
with the speed to go with skills. He has driven to two third place finishes with very convincing drives in his first
outings for Aston Martin. Teammate Lance Strohl , too, has risen in the driver ratings, lifted up by Aston Martin's
new and improved car with its Mercedes powerplant.
Alonso stepped into the seat after four time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel stepped away from racing at the end of
the 2022 season. Vettel had had disappointing races the Cognizant team and he was ready to move on.

Alonso is a two time F1 Champion driver. Earlier, he had taken a two year sabbatical from the sport before
60