Magazine: How Aston Martin became F1 frontrunners

Fernando Alonso has starred to take a hat-trick of podiums – even if sometimes they’re belated – while Lance Stroll has raced well despite carrying an injury. It’s been a remarkable turnaround since the green team’s travails only 12 months ago, and it’s a story into which Alex Kalinauckas delves. Team chief Mike Krack is particularly interesting and – who knows? – perhaps Aston could even challenge Red Bull for victories.

Elsewhere, the 2023 season is well and truly chiming in. Gary Watkins was at the Portimao 6 Hours to see Toyota leave Ferrari and the other Hypercar contenders trailing, David Malsher-Lopez was on hand at Long Beach to watch Kyle Kirkwood come of age, and our historics sage Marcus Pye brings the latest Goodwood feast of nostalgia from the Members’ Meeting – including two races won by a car that’s 118 years old…

The British Touring Car Championship kicks off at Donington Park this weekend, and this is previewed fully by Marcus Simmons, who also sits down with Rory Butcher and Speedworks Motorsport chief Christian Dick to discuss developments at the Toyota team that could thrust them into title contention.

Also on this weekend is Rally Croatia, but this will be a sad affair after the testing crash in his Hyundai that claimed the life of Craig Breen. It’s a tragedy that has hit the rally world particularly hard, since the Irishman was an immensely popular competitor. In many ways he was one of us: a massive fan of the sport, but he just happened to also be able to drive incredibly well. Tom Howard pays tribute to man who will be sorely missed.

National racing in the UK stepped up a gear last weekend, and beyond Goodwood we cover a further seven events from the length and breadth of the British Isles. Looking ahead, Stephen Lickorish previews the BTCC support championships that get going alongside the headline act at Donington in the coming days.

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