The Formula 1 season has not started as might be desired for Fernando Alonso’s new team, Aston Martin. The green car, driven by the Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, caused the first red flag of the season. All the excitement that Aston Martin’s debut had generated was deflated in an instant when the Brazilian’s car came to a stop on the first lap, just five corners away.
Drugovich is in command of the Aston Martin because another setback caused the team to drop out. The boss’s son Lance Strollhad a bicycle accident this week in Spain, where he was training and had to be treated in Barcelona for an arm injury.
The extent of the injury to the Canadian, Alonso’s teammate on the British team, is unknown, but the mishap is serious enough for him not to be in the Bahrain tests and probably not in the race at the start of the year (March 5).
Aston Martin started the season with a black blanket covering the green car, which was transported by crane to the circuit garage in the desert.
It was not, however, a major problem, as Drugovich He went out on the track an hour later of the mishap. Some electrical type problem, which required immediate intervention of the mechanics.
In any case, a red flag that affected the rest of the teams. They all had to stop for just over fifteen minutes, until the too-slow stewards removed the Aston Martin to the garage.
It must be remembered that the teams are barely going to have time to carry out their pre-season training sessions and tests. Only three days, the tests getting shorter and shorter, that is, a day and a half for each pilot.
Fernando Alonso, Present in the Aston Martin garage, he witnessed that first problem with his new car. The Spanish pilot rides in the afternoon at the Bahrain circuit.
As is usual in official pre-season tests, the new cars appear on the track, testing an endless number of variants, so setbacks are not uncommon. ANDThe start of the championship is scheduled for the weekend of March 3-5 in the same scenario of these tests.
News for the 2023 World Cup
Everything points to that Red Bull He will continue to be the rival to beat, especially after the show given by the reigning champion, Max Verstappen, last year, with Sergio Pérez as his partner. The Dutchman adds two consecutive titles in the partnership that his team has established with Honda, the Japanese engine that does work with energy cars.
Logan Sargeant (Williams), Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren) will be the rookies for 2023.
