Fernando Alonso's new F1 car revealed: meet the Aston Martin AMR23

Times are changin’ at Aston Martin - or so the team would have you believe - with the 2023 F1 car revealed at the team’s new factory with another multi-world champion driver installed into its line-up.

Yes, Fernando Alonso is wearing Aston Martin green this season, having shocked the F1 world (although, are his questionable career moves really a shock now?) by announcing his departure from Alpine to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.

It was a curious decision because Alpine were doing pretty well at the time and Aston Martin… weren’t. Although the team did show signs of recovery towards the end of last season, so perhaps Nando is onto something.

Aston says the AMR23 is an evolution of last year’s car, with technical director Dan Fallows saying they’ve “improved it in every critical area”. He continued: “It optimises the solutions we felt would offer us the most performance, and it embodies the joint vision we have embraced and have built together over the recent months.”

As well as the minimum ride height increasing by 15mm on behest of the FIA, and larger wing mirrors introduced to improve visibility, the team says its main areas of focus have been the front wing, sidepods, the engine cover and roll hoop inlet.

“I have always said that I could see the ambition that shines bright at AMF1,” said Alonso. “And, as we launch the car in this brand-new factory, I think everyone can now see the scale of the ambition and determination at the heart of this organisation.

“Just as important is the car – and the AMR23 looks incredibly neatly packaged and highly efficient. I was pleasantly surprised when I sampled last year’s car for the very first time, and I think there is plenty of performance we can unlock together. I can’t wait to get started.”

Meanwhile Lance Stroll - who, for those of you who’ve been consigned to a remote island until recently, is the son of team owner Lawrence - said he was “massively looking forward” to working with his new teammate. “I’ve always got along very well with him – and it will be fantastic to race alongside him.”

He added: “Looking at AMR23, I can see lots of new thinking and some aggressive work around the packaging and aerodynamics that should really help us out as we head into year two of these new rules.”

While F1 fans the world over wait to see how Alonso and Stroll’s relationship evolves (or going on past form, capitulates), the team has Felipe Drugovich and ex-McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne operating as test and reserve drivers. Meanwhile Pedro de la Rosa and Jess Hawkins continue in ambassadorial roles.

And what impact can we expect from that new factory? Construction started in 2021 and is due for completion soon, although stuff like the wind tunnel and simulator aren’t set to come online until late 2024. By which point Alonso will be 43…