F1: Fernando Alonso admits third place finish in Bahrain came in as a pleasant surprise; 'Means a lot to everyone in the team'

Fernando Alonso says his third placing at the Formula One season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix was an "amazing surprise" and it "means a lot to everyone" at Aston Martin.

He admits the team wasn't expecting to finish on the podium at all this season, rather they thought they would gain knowledge to be ready to mount an assault on the championship in 2024.

"Yeah. I mean, he means a lot to everyone in the team. We didn't expect to be that competitive. I think we didn't expect to win the podium, to be honest, in 2023. We thought just to start the project, change the concept of the car, try to win the midfield from part of the midfield. Then eventually in 2024, you know, get closer to the top three teams. And we found out that we had the second best car in Bahrain just behind Red Bull. So this is just an amazing surprise."