Aston Martin will bring crucial developments to the AMR23, in a final push to keep 4th in the standings from McLaren.
Aston Martin was the biggest talking point in early 2023, shocking the field in Bahrain. Their phenomenal development shocked F1 news outlets and rivals alike, with Alonso claiming a podium on his team debut. McLaren on the other hand, were absolutely nowhere.
This first result was no fluke, with the Spaniard claiming further fix podiums in the next six rounds. Dan Fallows and his technical team were credited for catapulting Aston Martin to the front of the field.
At last season’s Spanish GP, the Silverstone-based team introduced their ‘b-spec’ car. After a slow start to 2022, these changes corrected their trajectory and development path for the winter break.
Even in the final rounds of last season, the British outfit was already contending with McLaren and Alpine. However, it became clear in pre-season that a gigantic step forward had been taken by Lawrence Stroll’s personnel.
Moreover, Aston Martin enjoyed the advantage of a solid foundational concept. They were the only team – alongside Red Bull – to have the right overall philosophy when the lights went out in 2023.
The wrong direction
In the budget cap era of Formula 1, this was hugely significant. We have already seen the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari diverting their efforts to 2024, admitting that making a full mid-season recovery was unattainable.
With all these facts and a fantastic Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin was in a fantastic position to finish in the top 3 in the standings.
However, the situation is now far more negative for Team Silverstone. Currently, 4th in the standings, Aston has been slipping in the constructors standings since the Austrian GP.
The AMR23 is increasingly uncompetitive – relative to Mercedes and Ferrari – after failed upgrade packages. The Canadian GP was a key turning point, where a series of updates had a negative impact on performance.
Simply put, these changes put the car outside its ideal operating window. Perhaps more significantly, it has put the team on a significant detour to recover from this blunder.
However, perhaps the biggest blow to Aston Martin is the awakening of a sleeping giant – McLaren. Andrea Stella’s squad has introduced a variety of updates this year, recovering from a poor winter break.
These have propelled the MCL60 to the front, with the Woking-based team just 11 points behind Aston in the standings. Over the last five rounds, the difference in points and performance for these outfits has been staggering.
Final upgrades of 2023
In an effort to reverse this trend, the AMR23 will receive another upgrade package:
“You always focus on yourself. We have to improve the car, and that’s what we’re going to try and do.
“It will be difficult to get close to their performance, but we have to try,” stated team principal Mike Krack – when asked about closing the gap to McLaren.
Krack also outlined some of the positives from Qatar – mainly Alonso’s performance relative to Leclerc. Although Aston was slower than McLaren and Mercedes, their pace was more encouraging than it was in Suzuka – for example.
With this in mind, it will be imperative that the team can understand why its pace has been so wayward since mid-season. This isn’t just important for the last five rounds but also development for the 2024 season.
