2023 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix highlights

Lance and Fernando secure points in the final race of 2023 to make this season Aston Martin’s best to date.

Read what Fernando, Lance, and Team Principal Mike Krack said on the 2023 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi race.

Fernando Alonso

If you’d told me before this weekend that I’d finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, I wouldn’t have believed you – so this is a natural gift. I’m pleased with how I’ve driven all season – I think this has been my best, most consistent driving season since 2012.

I think I got the maximum from the car all season. The whole Aston Martin team has worked incredibly hard, and I am already looking forward to going into the winter and starting work for next season. We started this year as an underdog, but we’ll begin 2024 very much in the spotlight; we need to be ready for that.

Finally, a big thank-you and well done to everybody on the Team – this year has far exceeded all our wildest expectations, and every single person should be proud of what we’ve achieved.

Lance Stroll

We elected to start the race on the Hard tyre and put in a long stint, hoping for a Safety Car and a quick stop, but it didn’t play out like that, so we ran a two-stop strategy. Nevertheless, we were attacking well today and making progress throughout the field.

We tend to have a better pace on Sundays, which was the case today. I’m pleased that we finished 2023 with stronger performances that we can be proud of. It’s been a year of learning – we’ve had ups and downs – but we’re in a good place heading into next year.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

We could end this successful season with both cars inside the points. There were few opportunities in a race without retirements, and things played out in pace order. We did what we could, jumping [Yuki] Tsunoda with Fernando to finish seventh, and Lance made up three places to score the final point. Reflecting on the season, I see only the positives and the considerable progress we made compared to last year. We have enjoyed some special days, especially in the early part of the season, and we came back strong in the recent races.

Full credit to Red Bull Racing and Max [Verstappen] for their high standards and new records. To win 21 races in a season is a remarkable achievement and can only act as motivation for us to close the gap ahead of 2024.

It has been our best season to date as a team – scoring 280 vs 55 last season. I want to thank everyone on the trackside and at the AMRTC for all the hard work. Also, to our fans and all our partners, we could not have achieved this progress without their support.