Fernando Alonso has finished third in four of his first five races with Aston Martin; the two-time world champion is chasing the 33rd race victory of his F1 career; watch the Monaco Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from May 26-28
Wednesday 17 May 2023 15:57, UK
Fernando Alonso believes he can win a race during the 2023 Formula 1 season and has pinpointed the Monaco Grand Prix as possibly providing his best opportunity.
Alonso has made a brilliant start to life at Aston Martin, finishing third in four of his first five races with the team after joining from Alpine during the off-season.
Aston Martin's pace, which has seen them go from finishing seventh in last year's constructors' standings to sitting second ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari, has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2023 season so far, with only Red Bull's dominance overshadowing it.
While Alonso's podiums have almost been celebrated like victories, the early-season success has the two-time world champion thinking about adding to his 32 career wins.
A triple-header of European races was scheduled to begin this weekend, but flooding in northern Italy led to the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, meaning the Monaco GP is now the next race on the calendar.
Asked by Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle whether he can "win a race or two" this season, Alonso replied: "I think so, yes."
As to where that victory might come, Alonso continued: "I don't know. We seem to have a car that is maybe not the fastest on the straights. We need to improve that, but we are very good on the corners.
"So I would say that the slowest speeds of the championship, let's say Monaco, Budapest, Singapore.
"These kind of circuits, I think we put our main hopes at the moment."
While Alonso has driven brilliantly, comprehensively outperforming his team-mate Lance Stroll, the Spaniard has been unable to mount a challenge against the might of Red Bull.
Max Verstappen, who is seeking a third successive world championship, has won three races, while his team-mate Sergio Perez has won the other two.
"I think at the beginning of the year a podium was amazing," Alonso said. "Now after four podiums we want obviously more and at least a second place.
"But, you know, the two Red Bulls they are always unbreakable, and they are always super-fast.
"It (the Red Bull) is stronger, it's faster and the reliability has been always outstanding for them as well, finishing both cars in every race.
"If one day there is a crack there, if there is an opportunity, we need to make sure we are in that position and we're still not making mistakes at any point in the weekend."
Despite Aston Martin being Red Bull's nearest challengers in the constructors' standings, and Alonso sitting third behind Verstappen and Perez in the drivers' championship, the attention is largely elsewhere ahead of F1's return to Europe.
That's because Mercedes and Ferrari are expected to bring highly anticipated upgrades to their cars, which some have speculated could move them ahead of Aston Martin, but Alonso isn't so sure.
"I think it's going to be an interesting fight again," he said. "A lot of teams will bring upgrades to the car - Mercedes, probably Ferrari as well and we will try to keep finishing in front of them."
Formula 1 returns to the streets of Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix from May 26-28. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 including the race from 2pm on Sunday May 28.
