Aston Martin will introduce important upgrades in Miami, which will be a crucial test for the AMR24. The opening rounds of 2024 have been tricky for the Silverstone-based team, with their performance fluctuating. After promising signs from their Japan updates, Aston Martin suffered severe tyre degradation in China. This weekend, Mike Krack’s technical team will work to tackle this issue.
Somewhat paradoxically, Aston Martin’s 2024 car has the opposite characteristics of its predecessors. Last season, especially in the early phases, the British outfit performed at its best on race day. The AMR23 gave its drivers a predictable platform to work with on race day – whilst also looking after its tyres.
ASTON MARTIN STRUGGLE ON RACE DAY
Unfortunately for Aston, the AMR24’s impressive qualifying pace has been to the detriment of its race pace. Much like Ferrari in 2023, this year’s Silverstone-produced car suffers from significant tyre degradation during a Grand Prix.
This has relegated Fernando Alonso to squabbles with Mercedes on Sunday – rather than with Red Bull, Ferrari or even McLaren for podium positions.
Even with a second parc ferme in Shanghai, Aston Martin’s two-time Champion failed to replicate his P3 in qualifying into a top-five finish on Sunday.
Unlike McLaren, who introduced an important upgrade package this weekend, Aston Martin’s 2024 car is quite drastically different to its predecessor. In this sense, there is some optimism the British outfit can find a better operating window in the near-future.
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24.
20.04.2024. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China, Sprint and Qualifying Day.
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SMALL IMPROVEMENTS ARRIVING IN MIAMI
However, the fairly large Japan upgrades, at least for now, are yet to produce substantial results. This elevates the importance of the upgrades being introduced to the AMR24 in Miami.
These new components are relatively minor, but they represent part of the team’s plan to introduce progressive improvements throughout 2024.
Last season, Aston Martin experienced one of their toughest weekends in COTA when they brought a massive update package to a Sprint weekend. This decision saw them brutally punished for incorrect set-up, forcing them to start from the pit-lane on Sunday.
However, this weekend’s update is relatively minor – so last season’s disaster is unlikely to repeat itself.
As F1 heads into the sixth round of 2024, Aston Martin will have a bigger sample size to understand their performance relative to its immediate rivals. If they cannot find something soon, bridging the gap to McLaren and Ferrari (who have improvements on the way) will become very difficult.
