Fernando Alonso on Aston Martin progress and rookies: “It will be an incredible season”. Fernando Alonso is confident about the team's progress for Melbourne.

Aston Martin’s progress, but not only that
With the Australian Grand Prix just around the corner, Fernando Alonso is set to begin his 22nd season in Formula 1 at the very same Melbourne circuit where his journey in the top category started in 2001 with Minardi. The two-time Spanish world champion, now 43, shared his initial thoughts ahead of the weekend at Albert Park, starting with the progress Aston Martin has made in pre-season testing in Bahrain: “A lot of analysis has been done since Bahrain, and I think the results are more or less the same,” he stated. “I believe the car has taken a step forward, but everyone has done a great job. Several midfield teams are getting closer to the top teams, so I think it will be an incredible season.”

Sakhir and Melbourne
Like all the other drivers, Alonso will have to adapt to a very different track from Sakhir, highlighting the key differences as follows: “This is a very flowing circuit, with high-speed corners and long straights. We’ll see which car adapts the fastest. In Bahrain, we had only a day and a half of testing per driver. I think FP1, FP2, and FP3 are still like winter testing for us. Let’s see if we can have a good weekend and score some points.” – the Spanish driver pointed out.

Waiting for magic
Since the beginning of the month, Aston Martin has also been able to count on designer Adrian Newey, although, due to time constraints, the aerodynamics genius has not yet had an impact on the team: “He hasn’t provided any feedback yet. He has been to the factory and has just had his first meetings, introductions, and greetings. It’s still early, but he is very focused and excited about what is happening within the team, especially with the regulatory changes coming in 2026. I hope that in the next few weeks or months, we’ll see some magic from him.”

Generations compared
Fernando Alonso began his career in Australia, on the same circuit that this year will see several rookies on the starting grid. On this topic, the Spaniard shared his thoughts on the new talents: “I think it’s an advantage for me because I have a greater experience gap, but at the same time, they have incredible talent and speed. You don’t know them, you don’t know exactly how they approach an overtake, a start, or other situations. The first two races will be a learning process for them and for us to get to know each other better and maintain a high level of respect because, as I said, they are incredibly fast.” – the former Ferrari and McLaren driver concluded ahead of the Melbourne weekend at the Albert Park circuit.