But behind the dominant Dutchman there were constant changes in the second strongest force in the field. At the beginning of the year, Aston Martin was often the first chaser of Verstappen and Red Bull. The fact that Fernando Alonso was once again fighting for podium places in the premier class is certainly one of the stories of this Formula 1-season.
Despite his two world championship titles and the experience from over 370 Grands Prix, Fernando Alonso only fought in the midfield in previous years. The Spaniard moved to Aston Martin for 2023. The well-made AMR23 as a work tool and the 42-year-old's consistently outstanding driving skills quickly proved to be a good combination.
In the first eight races, Fernando Alonso was on the podium six times. With the first two podium places at the start of the season, he became only the sixth driver in the history of Formula 1 to break the mark of 100 podium results. After podium number 99 at the start in Bahrain, the 100th award ceremony followed in Saudi Arabia.
Model manufacturer Minichamps is honoring this milestone with two models that have just arrived in our shop. Both the racing car from the opening race in Bahrain and the car from the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, which was part of the 100th podium, are available in scale 1:43. The models are delivered in high quality high-cover collector's packaging and are exclusively limited to ck-modelcars. The Aston-Martin from Bahrain is limited to 514 units, the car from Saudi Arabia to 414 units. Both models include replica pit boards with congratulations after crossing the finish line.
It is not a given that Fernando Alonso would perform like that again. After all, his two World Cup titles were over a decade and a half ago. In 2005 and 2006 he defeated Michael Schumacher for the first time and ended his streak of five titles in a row. He then went via McLaren and his former team Renault to Ferrari, where he narrowly missed the world title twice in 2010 and 2012. He then returned to McLaren, where he was unable to build on his previous successes. The tirades against the inferior Honda drive have long been cult. The Spaniard then turned his back on Formula 1, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota and competed in the Indy 500 and the Dakar Rally.
In 2021 he returned to the premier class with Alpine. The French achieved a podium at the Grand Prix in Qatar in 2021, before the old champion became a regular on the podium again by switching to Aston Martin in 2023 - a welcome one, many fans agree.
F. Alonso Aston Martin AMR23 #14 3rd Bahrain GP Formula 1 2023 1:43 Minichamps, RRP €99,95 item-no.: 447230114
F. Alonso Aston Martin AMR23 #14 100th F1 Career Podium Formula 1 2023 1:43, RRP €99,95 item-no.: 447230214
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F. Alonso Aston Martin AMR23 #14 3 Bahrain GP formel 1 2023 1:43 Minichamps | 119,95 € |