Fernando Alonso says that Aston Martin's current performance is infusing him with more confidence than at anytime in his career, even his time at Renault when he won his two world championships.
His comments come after hs took second place at the Canadian Grand Prix. While Max Verstappen remained firmly in control, Alonso felt that it showed Aston had close the gap to Red Bull while also staving off the threat from Mercedes.
“In terms of pace we were matching Red Bull most of the race," he told Sky Sports F1, adding that in his view Canada had been the “most competitive race of the year” for his team.
“Everything is good," he replied when asked how things were at Aston, which he joined over the winter. "To be honest I cannot think of another time in my career that I was this confident with a team and with a project itself.
“I think there is more to come," he continued. "I want to win a race this year… the car is going in the right direction so more opportunities will come.”
Team boss Mike Krack was more cautious about predicting a win for the team in 2023 given the dominance of the Red Bull, which is tipped to sweep all 22 race victories this season.
"It's always very motivational and we need to fight hard to close the gap as much as we can for the next races," he said. “It's challenging, because we have a car with a driver that wants to do that and we are not far from doing it."
Alonso's switch to Aston from Alpine (formerly Renault) has certainly rejuvenated the 41-year-old driver, the oldest man on the grid but one who is showing no signs of heading into retirement any time soon.
Once he does decide to step away from the cockpit for good, Alonso has indicated that he sees his long-term career playing a behind the scenes role at Aston - although he isn't sure what form that might take.
"It’s more into a medium, long-term project. I don’t know if I will be driving," he conceded, while adding that he would obviously prefer to still be in the seat when the moment comes for Aston to start winning races and competing for titles.
"I always have in my mind 'yes'," he said. "As long as I feel fast, and I still enjoy [driving], why would I stop? But at the moment, I’m enjoying [racing].”
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