Aston Martin is understood to have developed a drastically different car for 2024, with the AMR24 launch date now confirmed.
Last year can be described as something of a rollercoaster for Aston Martin, featuring incredible highs but frustrating lows. The British outfit shocked the F1 world in the early rounds, but the reality of competing at the front of the grid soon set in.
Established front-runners like Mercedes and Ferrari closed the gap – whilst the sleeping giant of McLaren awoke post-Austria.
Mid-season development pushed Aston down the field, with the team’s Canada updates negatively impacting the AMR23.
Despite seeing improvements in the wind tunnel, these changes were detrimental in terms of track performance. The primary issue was drivability, with Dan Fallow’s team introducing changes that pushed the outside its ideal window.
Aston Martin isn’t to be underestimated
The question for 2024 is whether Aston Martin has learned from its mistakes.
According to the latest information, the Silverstone-based outfit will introduce a completely new car this season – both inside and out.
It is easy to forget that last winter, Mike Krack’s team also promised big changes. More specifically, they promised a change to 95% of their components in an aggressive bid to climb the field.
At the time, these claims weren’t taken very seriously. However, their pre-season form was so impressive that (before the first round) I predicted Aston Martin would fight for podiums.
It’s safe to say this assessment was correct.
Risk vs reward for 2024
Returning to this year’s AMR24, there are two obvious scenarios. The first is a positive one for Aston, where the team has learned from their mistakes.
According to Dan Fallows, the final races of 2023 were “glorified test sessions” – designed to collect data for this year’s car.
In theory, the team’s painful weekends in COTA, Mexico and Suzuka should pay dividends this season.
The Brazilian GP proved the AMR23 was faster than previous rounds suggested. Testing different combinations of floor and diffuser specifications had clouded their true performance.
However, there is another more pessimistic outlook. It is still possible that Aston Martin’s problems from last season will reappear in 2024.
After all, there is no guarantee they have chosen the correct direction for next season. These F1 cars are highly sensitive, so finding the operational sweet spot is no easy task.
If Aston’s new car looks as different as reported, it will give added impetus to closely observe their pre-season testing.
Jumping from the midfield to the front of F1 is a hugely difficult task. The likes of Alpine will attest to that.
Perhaps the bigger challenge, however, is establishing yourself as a top team. The 2024 season will prove whether Aston has risen to this challenge.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
