Fernando Alonso admits he’s ‘hurt’ on eve of Aston Martin F1 debut

F1 preview: A lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix

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Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso has admitted he is ‘hurt’ ahead of his debut for Aston Martin at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard enters the 2023 campaign as the grid’s most experienced driver, with the upcoming season his 21st behind the wheel.

The new season will see the Spanish star drive for a sixth team on the grid, after the two-time world champion departed Alpine at the end of 2022. Alonso will now drive for new employers Aston Martin, but it is not all smiles heading into his debut weekend despite a strong showing during pre-season testing.

The Spaniard was out testing the new car without his new teammate Lance Stroll. This comes after the Canadian was ruled out through injury, following an accident whilst out cycling earlier this month.

And despite returning some impressive numbers, Alonso has admitted not having Stroll behind the wheel has not been ideal for their preparation. He said: “We are learning a lot about the car, I think this car is very different compared to last year. We are changing a lot of things.

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“Unfortunately we don’t have Lance, because that would be a benefit for us. We miss him here because some of the changes we’re making to the car, we don’t know if it’s this car, or it’s just an Aston Martin thing that for me feels different.

“So it’s not ideal, but hopefully he can give us some feedback soon, and we can make some progress.” He then added: ” It hurts a lot. I think we miss him because some of my comments or my feelings with the car.

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“Or it’s just maybe an Aston Martin thing that Lance would spot. So brake pedal feeling, power steering…all these things.

“I don’t know if this is a legacy from the team, or is just new on this car. So yeah, we cannot do it without him, so I hope he can come back soon.”

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