Alonso's glowing Aston Martin verdict after fresh deal

Fernando Alonso has labelled the "ambition" of Aston Martin in Formula 1 as "something else" after agreeing fresh terms with the team.

Alonso's contract was due to expire at the end of the 2024 season, with the two-time world champion mulling over retirement, staying with the team or trying to secure a seat elsewhere, possibly at Mercedes or Red Bull.

However, the two-time champion committed his future for a 22nd and 23rd F1 season to the Silverstone-based team, which aims to challenge for the world championship.

Owner Lawrence Stroll has pumped money into the facilities, including a brand-new factory at the team's campus, and is even reportedly trying to lure Adrian Newey from Red Bull.

In 2023, the team climbed from the midfield to regular podium contenders, with Alonso snaring eight rostrum visits as it took fifth in the standings having trailed off towards the end of the year.

Despite that, and a relatively slow start to 2024, Alonso is firm over the "ambition" of the team which was previously known as Jordan, Midland, Spyker, Force India and Racing Point.

"Obviously, I wanted to see how we would perform," Alonso told select media including RacingNews365.

"There was no guarantee that I would feel good and if I see with Aston that things are not going right, we have a car that is difficult to drive, we are not competitive and I saw no progress in the team and negative sides, maybe I would look elsewhere.

"But to be honest, although we didn't start [2024] in the podium positions, we are very close to the top four teams, apart from Red Bull.

"There are going to be some races where we are more competitive, some races less, but in the first four races, we introduced new parts of the car - at every race we had an upgrade.

"This is quite encouraging and nice to see, the team is making progress, it is never quick enough in F1, it is a very demanding sport and environment.

"But 18 months ago, we had a very small building - the old Jordan factory, and now we are half-a-tenth up and down with Ferrari, Mercedes and the top teams.

"So the ambition of this project is just something else."