As the upcoming home race beckons for Fernando Alonso, hopes are tempered with caution. While Aston Martin showcased glimpses of progress in narrowing the gap to Red Bull Racing, the true test lies in sustaining that momentum against the dominant force of Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team.

From the Brink of Glory: Nando’s bittersweet dance with Destiny in the Unpredictable 2012 Season

The start of the 2012 season unleashed a whirlwind of excitement; as if the racing gods themselves were toying with fate. Seven races, seven victors—a record for the series. It was during the European Grand Prix in June that Fernando Alonso, the audacious virtuoso hailing from Ferrari, ignited the circuit winning a Grand Prix for the second time that year, establishing himself as the championship leader.

Back then, Fernando took the fight for the title to the last round in the Ferrari F2012, which was clearly much slower than the Red Bull RB8 of Sebastian Vettel. That year, he narrowly missed out on the championship. But Alonso’s remarkable performances and the ability to extract maximum performance from his car are probably the reasons why he considers 2012 to be his best season yet. But the same seems unlikely for the 2023 season.

Challenging to Beat Red Bull’s Dominance: The realistic outlook of Fernando Alonso on the remaining races

After the Monaco GP, Alonso clearly acknowledged the unshakeable dominance of Red Bull on track. Despite that, he firmly believes that his own performance is being overshadowed by the Austrian Bulls. In a statement given to motorsport.com, he said, “We were very close in qualifying last weekend, but Red Bull was again very dominant in the race. We will have to accept that the situation will probably not be any different next weekend. In addition, we have to see how Mercedes’ improved package performs on a normal circuit and Ferrari is also reportedly taking upgrades to Barcelona.”

Alonso added, “As I said in Miami, there will also be weekends this year where we finish seventh or eighth. We will have to accept that.” As far as Alonso sees it, in the past, this might have resulted in a different position in the championship. “I remember past seasons when I would have been leading the championship with the results I achieved this year. But we are now dealing with Red Bull and Max Dominating every race. Even if we do great in a race, we will still finish behind them,” said Alonso.

Watch This Story | Will Fernando Alonso & Aston Martin Be a Top F1 Championship Contender Soon?