13 February 2023 , 18:36
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Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll set ambitious goals for the season ahead as Aston Martin pulled the covers off their 2023 Formula 1 car.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, McLaren unveiled the livery of their MCL60 – a nod to the team's 60th anniversary celebrations this year. Aston Martin followed by showing off the design of their AMR23 during a reveal event at their Silverstone base, hosted by Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes.
New driver Alonso was present at the launch with team-mate Stroll. The Spaniard was shown the "green" car he has been regularly talking about and waiting to be able to drive for some time – the double champion will hope its performance will match his expectations as much as the colour does.
As expected, the new Aston Martin machine will use a similar colour scheme to their most two recent effort, which also bore the branding of the iconic British marque. But even though the shade of green used is striking, it is another darker car following the emerging trend among this year's liveries.
With teams desperate to save weight wherever possible, they have all turned to darker colour schemes to be able to use as much exposed carbon fibre as possible. Aston's new livery appears to be no different.
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Aston Martin's 2023 F1 car has a familiar look (Aston Martin F1 Team)On the plus side, Aston Martin have pledged to buck the other trend among F1 teams. It has become common for new liveries to be shown off on an old chassis or a show car, but technical director Eric Blandin promised: "The car we reveal will be the real AMR23. We're not going to disappoint fans."
Stroll said at the launch event: "If we can consistently be fighting for good points, podiums if the chance is there. It's just about making another step from where we were last year. We were the ninth team at the beginning of the year and then just missed out on sixth... a great recovery in the second half of the season.
Aston Martin say this is "the real AMR23" (Aston Martin F1 Team)"This year, if we're fighting further up the field again, that has to be the goal. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where we sit in Bahrain." His new team-mate Alonso said he had "very similar" ambitions for the season.
The Spaniard added: "We have to make sure we have a good baseline for future Aston Martin cars. Last year, I think the team went through some difficulties at the start of the year, but had a good second part. So we have to see the progress into 2023 with our feet on the ground.
"But we will not be happy with fourth, third, second. Maybe we cannot win immediately, but it's something we need to make sure [happens], that this car is the baseline for future years."