Aston Martin was and actually still is the surprise of this season. At the start of the season, Alonso was regularly on the podium, helping his team to second place in the Constructors’ Cup. In the last four races, however, the trend is turning.
Instead of fighting for the 33rd victory for Alonso, a drop in form came. The trend is clear – in the last four races, Aston Martin is going down. The exception was Canada, which suited Aston Martin. In Britain, not far from its own new factory, the team recorded its worst result of the year.
But Silverstone is a circuit that did not suit Aston Martin. The main strongholds of the green cars were missing – medium-speed corners and hard braking. The former RAF airfield, on the other hand, is a combination of slow and fast turns. In addition, the degradation was low, so Aston Martin could not show its strengths even in the tire area.
The team essentially sacrificed Friday at Silverstone for extensive testing. Both Alonso and Stroll tested different parts and settings.
Aston Martin explained this by saying that it did not have the opportunity to sufficiently test the news from Canada. In Montreal, the first practice session was cancelled, in Austria there was another sprint. But there is also a second possibility – the new parts do not work as they were supposed to.
Chief engineer Tom McCullough, quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, denies this option. “We understand the new package to a large extent. The rear brake ducts contributed to it. The data promises progress.”
Hungary should suit Aston Martin. Spa, in which Aston Martin has always been strong – back when the team was still called Force India, is supposed to be in a similar situation.
Aston will thus find itself in the opposite situation to McLaren at the Hungaroring. With him, we will see if he maintains his form, with Aston Martin, if he returns.
At Silverston, the team deployed a modified front wing and rear brake ducts. He is preparing other new parts for the upcoming two races as well as for Zandvoort, which will be the first race after the summer break.
Aston Martin will be hurt by the rules in the second half of the year. He finished seventh last year, so he was able to use the wind tunnel and CFD simulations to 100% of the benchmark. Now, since the end of June, there has been a 20% drop due to third place in the championship. This can manifest itself especially in the development for next year. But the factory says it can work with it, and it’s something the engineers expected.
It’s very close behind Red Bull now and it will probably stay that way next year. Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ferrari and possibly McLaren are fighting for the podiums.
Mike Krack was asked if it was possible for anyone to beat Red Bull. “Hell yes. It is possible,” said the team boss.
2023-07-17 17:47:44
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