Fernando Alonso won Driver of the Day for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix after taking his 99th podium in Formula 1 with a superb drive.
Aston Martin are the most improved team in F1 after a brilliant winter which has seen them move up from the midfield and towards the pointy end of the grid.
“Amazing for the team, it was a great weekend,” said Alonso. “Finishing on the podium in the first race of the year is just amazing. What Aston Martin did over the winter to have the second best car is just unreal.
“I would love to start in front of them and to use the pace but we had not the best pace so we had to pass on track. It felt more exciting, more adrenaline which people enjoy.”
How Alonso finished third at the Bahrain GP
Alonso started from fifth place, but dropped to seventh after contact with teammate Lance Stroll on the opening lap saw him lose control.
He overtook George Russell following a big fight during the first stint and managed his tyres in the second stint as he closed the gap to Lewis Hamilton.
In the final stages of the race, the two-time F1 world champion was flying as the fuel level came down and the Aston Martin came alive.
Alonso overtook Hamilton at Turn 4, but a big slide meant he lost the position. He soon rectified that a lap later with a superb move into the Turn 10 hairpin.
Charles Leclerc‘s retirement promoted Alonso into fourth and he was now chasing Carlos Sainz for the podium.
Another exciting fight saw the two Spaniards battle hard, before Alonso made the move going into Turn 11 and secured his first podium since Qatar 2021.
