Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin can build on the strong pace and momentum it showed in Bahrain, having kicked off its 2023 campaign with "a very basic" car.
The Silverstone-based outfit's new-spec AMR23 was the revelation of pre-season testing and foreshadowed Alonso's strong run to third in F1's opening round of racing in Bahrain, a performance in which the Spaniard defeated on merit both his Ferrari and Mercedes rivals.
But F1 teams will be racing on a very different track this weekend, with Jeddah's sinuous but fast-flowing sections demanding contrasting qualities relative to Sakhir.
©AstonMartin
Alonso is "curious" to see how Aston's challenger will fare in Saudi Arabia, but the 41-year-old notes that the AMR23 is only at the beginning of its development cycle.
"Sure, we need to wait for Jeddah, Australia, very different tracks, so I'm curious to see if we can keep this form in different circuits," Alonso said.
"But, on the other hand, I think the car that we have now is just a very basic car that we launched and we start the season with this completely new concept.
"I think there is a lot more to come in terms of development with this project, so I'm optimistic for that."
Last season, Aston succeeding in developing its way towards a better performance level within F1's midfield.
Aston team boss Mike Krack suggests his outfit can once again carry its car higher while managing its cost cap requirements, and it can do so while starting from a better base.
"Last year we managed to get better over the season, but we saw also how hard that is, because of the intensity that you have with racing and cost cap, you're really tight," Krack said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"You need to start with a good baseline because you cannot afford to spend what you have available just on developing.
"That is also why we went aggressive in the targets that we had for the car. Obviously, it's not always easy to achieve, but our team has managed great things there.
"It's much, much easier to develop from this base than to develop from the base we had last year."
But as usual in F1, Aston's development programme will unfold in parallel with its rivals' plans.
"We have our development plan in place, but the others have a plan in place as well," added Krack.
"It could well be that if you develop at the same rate you stay where you are, so let's see where we get to."
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