Fernando Alonso has reflected on a tumultuous year for Aston Martin as the British operation continues to build its F1 programme.

Alonso joined the Silverstone squad for 2023, shortly before a state-of-the-art factory came online.

That replaced the facility originally constructed by Eddie Jordan ahead of his eponymous team’s entry into the sport in 1991.

Growing out of the team that had since transformed into Force India and the Racing Point, Aston Martin has benefitted from significant investment from its billionaire owner, Lawrence Stroll.

The squad’s early performances in 2023 went some way to repay that, with Alonso netting six podiums from the opening eight races.

That included a performance in Monaco where the Spaniard should arguably have won, were it not for a poor tyre choice as rain began to fall.

However, it found that form difficult to maintain as rivals improved over the course of the season and experienced a mini-slump mid-season.

But that doesn’t take the shine off the season, according to Alonso, who suggests its evidence of the growth of Aston Martin.

“I see only positives,” he opined of 2023.

“Those struggles, I think, are part of the job and part of the journey of this team.

“We started really strong with a car that was surprisingly, maybe, more competitive – even to us, the step from last year to this year.

“And then we found ourselves maybe in a position that we were not ready for it, fighting with Mercedes, Ferrari, you know, top teams.

“They are used to fighting at that level. So yeah, we maybe stepped back a little bit in terms of development, also in the car during the season.”

Having run as high as second in the constructors’ championship following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Aston Martin ended the year as the fifth-best team.

It signalled an improvement of two places in that competition, but more tellingly, saw a five-fold increase in terms of points scored.

“We are not at the top level yet,” Alonso observed.

“We found ourselves a little bit less competitive but, all in all, I think it was unthinkable 12 months ago, at this stage, to think about the campaign we did.

“I remember perfectly the test last year after the race [in Abu Dhabi] with the team,” he added.

“If someone tells me that we will be in this position that we are today, I will not believe it.”

Aston Martin ended the year fifth in the constructors’ championship, Alonso fourth in the drivers’ competition, his best season performance since he drove for Ferrari in 2013.