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Fernando Alonso, who joins Aston Martin to partner Lance Stroll this season, says team is “different” to former teams Alpine and McLaren with their ambition; Alonso aiming to lead the midfield in 2023 before fighting for wins and podiums next year

Aston Martin have revealed the car they believe will vault them up the standings in 2023, with bullish new signing Fernando Alonso adamant his latest Formula 1 team is “special” and destined for future titles.

Bringing an end to a mega Monday after McLaren’s launch, Aston Martin used their all-new Silverstone base to unveil the AMR23, donned in the classic racing green that the luxury British manufacturer is famous for.

The car is also adventurous in its design following a string of behind-the-scenes signings from rivals and the team, formerly known as Racing Point and before that Force India, are confident in a big improvement this year after back-to-back seasons in seventh following their re-brand.

Nobody typified their conviction at the launch more than Alonso, the fiery double world champion who surprisingly left Alpine to join Aston Martin and replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.

“There is something going on in this team that makes things special,” insisted the Spaniard, 41, before firing a dig at his former teams.

“This is very different compared to any other team I joined [recently] where maybe they had success in the past and they were just in a comfortable position,” Alonso, who before Alpine grew frustrated at McLaren, added.

“They were fourth and they were happy with fourth. They were fifth and they were happy with fifth. They were seventh and there was a celebration.

“There there is no celebration here until we win… and this is very appealing.”

Aston Martin have long stressed their hopes to reach the front of the grid but – while buoyed by a new factory, new aerodynamic gurus and a new superstar driver – admit their project is more long-term than short-term.

Alonso though said he wants the team to “leave the midfield” in 2023 before fighting for wins and podiums next year.

He partners Lance Stroll, the son of of owner Lawrence, with Mike Krack the team principal.

“When I get excited about something, I get very passionate,” said Lawrence Stroll. “When I get passionate about something, I win.”

What Alonso sees in ‘special’ Aston Martin

Alonso provided the shock of the driver market last year when he rejected an Alpine contract in the summer in favour of joining Aston Martin, the rebuilding, and consistently slower, team. Given Alonso’s age – he is comfortably F1’s elder statesman – the move flummoxed many.

On Monday, however, Alonso remained buoyant about his decision, and the chances of Aston Martin.

That is due to the heavy investment of Aston Martin and Lawrence Stroll, the improving facilities and influx of talent, headlined by new technical director Dan Fallows arriving from Red Bull.

The AMR23, like many this launch season, seems to be taking inspiration from last year’s title-dominating Red Bull.

It has been called “bold and aggressive” and a “significant evolution” of their previous AMR22.

“Every day I’m happier,” said Alonso, who won his world titles with Renault almost 20 years ago. “I’m very demanding on everything that I do. I give my 100 per cent and I expect the same from the people I work with.

“From the first day at Aston Martin, I felt exactly the same values from the people around me. It’s very motivating.

“In Formula 1, you need investment and you need talent. We have the investment, we have the facilities and we have the talent. Unfortunately I am not 20 years old any more, but I will do my best to help the team.”

It’s rare to see Alonso this optimistic going into a season. If he is proven right, the man who is renowned for making unfortunate career decisions may wish he had made this switch earlier on in his glittering career.

How high can Aston Martin go?

Aston Martin were born from teams that consistently punched above their weight but now have the finances and facilities to compete with any of F1’s leading lights, albeit while acknowledging that their project may not have lift-off until the arrival of a windtunnel for 2025.

The long term goal is, evidently, championships, but for now Aston Martin are focused on getting to the front of the midfield. Even that is a lofty goal given they finished over 100 points behind Alpine in fourth last year.

“I cannot say to anyone we will be fighting for victories this year,” continued Alonso. “I will lie if I say that.

“But at the same time we want to have a good car to start with and maybe in the second part of the year we can get closer. If an opportunity comes we will not miss that opportunity.

“We have to understand there are no miracles in F1, from one year to the next, only a few months since Abu Dhabi and there is a big gap to recover to the top teams.

“But we definitely we have to leave the midfield and get closer to the top three teams. The most important thing this year is to make sure this is the baseline to develop future Aston Martin cars.”

The car will have a Silverstone shakedown before hitting the track at pre-season testing on February 23-25, live on Sky Sports F1. The season then starts with the Bahrain GP on March 5.

Williams reveal updated livery for FW45, adorned with new sponsors such as Gulf Oil; Alex Albon and rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant aiming to lift team up standings in 2023 after dismal five years; Williams also have new team principal in James Vowles, who starts on February 20

Williams have revealed their new livery for the 2023 Formula 1 season after agreeing a mega new partnership with Gulf Oil.

The third team to start their campaign with a launch, Williams showed off an updated blue and red livery adorned with many new sponsors at their Grove base, before their FW45 car debuts hitting the track next Monday.

The most notable addition to the livery is the Gulf logo, with the oil company joining forces with another F1 team after its partnership with McLaren ended in 2022. Many had speculated that the Williams car may feature more of the famous blue and orange Gulf colours.

“This signifies the strength of our brand and commercial offerings as we continue our transformation,” said Matthew Savage, Chairman of the Board at Williams.

“Gulf and Williams Racing share an illustrious motorsport heritage and, together, we are making history with this partnership.”

Williams, one of the most successful F1 teams of all-time but backmarkers in recent years, have been going through their “transformation” since Dorilton Capital acquired the team from the legendary Sir Frank Williams in 2020.

Alex Albon returns for his second year with the team this year and will be partnered by rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant, F1’s first American driver since 2016.

Williams will also have a new team principal in James Vowles – the highly-respected Mercedes strategy chief – although he was not present at Monday’s launch as he doesn’t start in his role until February 20.

The FW45 will hit the track at Silverstone on Monday, February 13, before pre-season testing begins the following week.

Pre-season testing is all live on Sky Sports F1 from February 23-25, as is every Formula 1 practice, qualifying and race. The season-opener is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.

Will new recruits help Williams end miserable run?

With 16 world championship titles to their name, only Ferrari and McLaren have won more titles than Williams – but the Grove outfit have been rock bottom of the standings in four of the last five seasons.

Powered by Mercedes engines, Williams will be aiming to leap up the field in 2023 after scoring eight points last year and say they have heavily evolved the sidepod concept on this year’s car.

They also say there are modifications to the front suspension layout and ‘major external aerodynamic surfaces’, while the car will be more ‘aerodynamically efficient’ than last season’s FW44.

Williams drivers Alex Albon (left) and Logan Sargeant

Tasked with leading their rebuild is Vowles, while Albon – Max Verstappen’s former Red Bull team-mate – and rookie team-mate Sargeant form a young driver line-up.

“The team has worked really hard last year and over the winter to address some key areas in our car, putting in the work to try and maximise what we get out of the car for 2023,” said Albon.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the FW45 can do.”

Sargeant, 22, replaces Nicholas Latifi at Williams after finishing fourth in the feeder Formula 2 championship last year.

He added: “I’m really excited for the season to get started after what, for me, feels like a long winter! I’m super motivated and we’ve put a lot of hard work in.

“The car is looking amazing and it shows the huge effort the team has put in the off season, so I’m looking forward to getting started at Silverstone before heading out to Bahrain.”

Williams also have a driver academy that includes three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who is bidding to make her name Stateside this season in Indy NXT.

Williams’ liveries over the years

Williams’ 2019 car, the FW42

Williams’ 2020 car, the FW43

Williams’ 2021 car, the FW43B

Williams’ 2022 car, the FW44

What’s new on the cars for 2023?

While there is no rules overhaul for next year like there was for 2022, there are subtle changes to the rules and cars that teams can take advantage of.

The most notable is a higher ride height. This is essentially lifting the cars higher off the ground to help reduce the bouncing ‘porpoising’ phenomenon that affected teams – most notably Mercedes – in 2022.

This is done by raising the floor edge and throat, while the diffuser edge has also been stiffened. There is also an additional sensor to effectively monitor porpoising.

While these are mostly for safety reasons and are expected to initially cost teams time due to a stiffer floor, it could also narrow the field with a higher ride height thought to have been key to Red Bull and Ferrari’s 2023 cars.

The other changes to the cars revolve around outlawing designs such as Aston Martin’s rear wing and Mercedes’ front wing from 2023, and more safety additions.

The roll hoops, for example, have been strengthened following Zhou Guanyu’s dramatic crash at Silverstone last year.