Aston Martin has important updates planned for Imola, which Alonso describes as essential for the team’s 2024 season.
Fernando Alonso has outlined that critical upgrades will arrive to the AMR24 in the near future. After a few flashes of performance, the Aston Martin is now in a relatively uninspiring position. They are fifth in the Championship, almost 100 points behind McLaren and well over 100 points behind Ferrari. Despite introducing upgrades in Japan, it is clear they have been comprehensively outdeveloped by their rivals. Moving forward, Alonso is hopeful upgrades can rectify the situation.
Aston Martin losing the development war
At this stage last year, Lawrence Stroll’s team was the closest challenger to Red Bull. Podium finishers were standard practice for Fernando Alonso. However, their highly anticipated Canada upgrades actually made the car worse – pushing it outside its operating window. This put Aston Martin into a negative spiral, spending the majority of the season trying to correct their own mistakes.
Before this season, there was optimism they could recover some of their losses. This hope is generally gone, with the AMR24 far away from contending for podiums – let alone race victories.
McLaren’s mid-season upgrades have unlocked significant performance already, propelling them to victory in Miami. Ferrari already has a race victory under their belts – even without the arrival of their first 2024 update package in Imola.
In this ultra-competitive environment, Aston Martin must respond. Unlike last season, their immediate rivals do not have to address fundamental issues with their concept. Mid-season development will only intensify, so Mike Krack’s technical team must keep up.
Fernando Alonso emphasises the importance of upgrades
Speaking after his P9 finish in Miami, Alonso explained the team’s plan for the short term:
“There will be upgrades. We have faltered in the last three races – Japan, China and Miami,” as.com quotes him as saying.
“They’ve all been similar, in my opinion, but the good qualifying sessions put us in the lead groups – then we go backwards.
“On pure pace, in the race, we have taken a step backwards in the last three races, and that’s what we’re going to try and improve.”
At this stage, there is no time for experimentation or unforced errors. Repeating last year’s mistakes will altogether ruin Aston’s chances of fighting at the front in the foreseeable future.
There is undoubtedly potential in the AMR24. Alonso’s qualifying form this season has been impressive – although this was not the case last weekend in Florida. Still, Aston Martin is within striking range of the top teams.
Now, their task is to make the rapid progress their rivals have made in the last twelve months. The next round in Imola will be their first big test in this regard. In many ways, it will determine their potential for growth in what remains this season.
