Aston Martin was the main success story of early 2023, but their recent decline in performance has now become equally featured in F1 news headlines.
The British squad secured six podiums from the first eight races, establishing themselves as one of the fastest teams of the grid and showing no apparent weakness.
Although circuits such as Monaco demonstrated the main strengths of the AMR23, Aston were seldom slower than third-fastest team across a variety of track layouts.
With that said, some early concerns began to show themselves at the Spanish GP. The Catalunya Circuit was the first venue of 2023 where the Silverstone squad lacked the speed to fight for a podium.
An update package in Canada, where Alonso secured an impressive P2 finish, largely silenced any worries about the AMR23.
However, the Austrian GP – which saw McLaren introduce the first step of their major update package – was another relatively uninspiring weekend for Aston.
Post-race penalties slightly improved the team’s race result, but a clear negative trend was beginning to form.
Silverstone and Hungary (a circuit where the AMR23 would have excelled on at to start the season), have cemented the recent regression of the British squad.
Plenty of factors could have contributed to this, the first being McLaren’s resurgence – which has pushed several teams down the pecking order.
Despite this, even with the improvements made to the MCL60, Aston Martin has lost significant ground to Mercedes and Ferrari.
Incorrect set-up is another hypothesis. It is plausible that failure to optimise the new parts from Canada has potentially mitigated the early strenths of the AMR23 – whilst failing to address its weaknesses.
The new tyres from Pirelli could also have played a role. In any case, Aston Martin must understand and address these issues.
Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB19.
09.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Day.
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Reports from Spain’s MARCA indicate that Aston Martin have an importany package planned, which would be consistent with the comments made by team principal Mike Krack post-race:
“Today is a reality check. We need to keep our heads down, keep working hard, and push through the developments to get back to where we were in earlier in the season.”
Unlike the likes of Red Bull, who are fully focused on 2024, Aston Martin must understand the issues that have recently surfaced on this year’s package.
Spanish outlets claim that floor and sidepod upgrades are anticipated at either Spa or Zandvoort, although it remains to be seen how accurate this information proves to be.
What is not up for debate, however, is that significant work lies ahead for Aston Martin to rectify their current predicament.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
