Alonso pointed out that the run of podiums at the start of 2023 was not expected, and claimed that each weekend is “a celebration” as the team remembers where it was a year ago.
After logging six podiums in the first eight races, the team has slipped back as McLaren has made a step and Mercedes has been consistently near the front.
Alonso insists that he’s not worried, as the team is still much better off than at the same point last year.
“The team is in very good spirits,” said the Spaniard. “It's nearly a celebration, to be honest, every weekend, every week we do. Last year we were in Spa, I remember after the August break I came here after signing the contract, they were ninth in the constructors’ championship. Only Williams behind them.
“Now we are in front of Ferrari, for example. Which is just incredible. So, the first half of 2023 is something that has been completely out of nowhere.
“We were so fast from the beginning, and we still enjoy all the good things about this car, the new factory, the new energy in the team and all of these things.
“Obviously we dropped performance in the last few events. Yes, but not as bad as, again, the press conferences [questioning] seem to be. We've been four-tenths from pole position last weekend, which is mind-blowing performance after the 2022 campaign, but we've been eighth.”
Alonso said recent struggles have been good for the team in terms of putting it on the right track for next season.
“We are honest with ourselves, we need to improve,” he added. “We are not hiding that, we lost performance in the last few events. We are working on that and those difficulties will make the team stronger.
“If we have a very easy season, we will not be preparing for 2024. So this kind of difficult weekends and understanding the car, and understanding our main opponents will just make the team stronger for the future.
“So, it's not that I'm happy to be slow, but it was necessary sometimes in the season to have some difficult weekends.”
Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov
