Alonso hails 2023 as his “best season” alongside 2012 title near-miss

Alonso narrowly missed out on the drivers’ championship to Sebastian Vettel at the final race in 2012 even though for the majority of the year, he didn’t have a car capable of finishing on the podium in normal circumstances.

In 2023, Alonso led Aston Martin to eight podium finishes, and currently sits fifth in the drivers’ standings, level on points with Carlos Sainz.

Reflecting on the season as a whole, he said: “I’m happy with the personal performance. “I think together with 2012 is the best season for me personally.

“I rate the best season in my driving and I was happy with everything. I was motivated, I was fit, I was performing in difficult conditions sometimes.

“Bahrain, Monaco, Canada, Monza and Brazil would be my top five [races] of the year.

“I put Monza on purpose because it was a ninth place. It was not a podium, it was nothing that people will remember, but probably we had the slowest car in Monza or the second slowest and to be in the points was one of those weekends where everything was very good.”

Alonso conceded that Monaco was his best chance of a victory since 2013.

“I think it was possible,” he added. “Probably Monaco was the closest, I guess a tyre call change or something.

“Maybe Zandvoort if we were in a different position in that restart. Probably we had opportunities here and there, but I believe we deserve it [a win] more than anybody else this year.”