The Aston Martin AMR24 was presented this morning, accompanied by words from team Principal Mike Krack and technical director Dan Fallows. Aston Martin’s project is very much an evolution from last season’s package. However, in-depth correction and evolution work has been carried out on every aspect of the single-seater.
The most important innovation concerns the transition to the push-rod suspension scheme at the rear. This is an obvious shift, given that the Silverstone team purchases its gearboxes from Mercedes. Aston also purchases its suspension as part of a supply agreement that also includes the power unit.
Aston Martin AMR24: Extrene front suspension to improve airflow towards the floor
“The front suspension is similar to that of the AMR23, also of the pushrod type,” said technical director Dan Fallows. However, the kinematics have evolved very aggressively, with the aim of improving its performance together with the front wing and the floor.
Even more so with this generation of ground-effect cars, the mechanics have a very important role. For this reason, at least four out of ten teams (Red Bull, Racing Bulls, Sauber and Mclaren) have opted to switch to the front pull-rod design.
“From an aerodynamic point of view, having the pull-rod at the front is the right thing to do,” Sauber technical director James Key told Motorsport.com a few days ago.
However, the transition to the pull-rod is anything but a walk in the park. After all, this suspension requires important mechanical compromises to effectively manage it.
Aston Martin, therefore, decided to evolve the push-rod used on the AMR23. Dan Fallows and his technical team worked on kinematics to unlock aerodynamic advantages without changing the suspension type. The result is a very aggressive suspension, especially in the arms of the upper triangle.
The front one has been raised, with a notable solution in the external part – where the arm connects to the wheel corner.
Meanwhile, the rear suspension has been lowered even further to increase the anti-dive effect, which has now exceeded 100%. The aerodynamic effect of the front suspension is to manage the wake of the front tyres and push airflow downwards.
Ideally, this airflow will go towards the entrance of the Venturi channels and the upper part of the floor.
Aston Martin AMR24: Mercedes rear suspension (push-rod) is extreme in strut angle
“At the rear, we inherited the new suspension from Mercedes,” announced Dan Fallows. This confirms that only Ferrari and Haas will use a pull-rod suspension at the rear next season.
With this generation of cars, in the opinion of many experts (technicians), the push-rod configuration at the rear has a clear aerodynamic advantage compared to the tie-rod configuration.
The teams seem to agree in the third year of the regulations.
“The rear suspension has been optimized to maximize the efficiency of the airflow around the rear wing”, said Aston Martin in a press release.
This speaks to the external part of the suspension, mainly the arms. Meanwhile, from a more internal point of view, the elements of a push-rod suspension can be mounted higher. The much more aggressive approach in the front part of the transmission is the result.
This allows for the possibility of having less aerodynamic block in a crucial area of the single-seater.
At the mouth of the diffuser, for example, there will be more room to develop and extract potential from the floor.
Similar to what was done at the front, Mercedes has opted to lower the front arm of the upper triangle, thus increasing the anti-squat to keep the aerodynamic platform of its own car as stable as possible and consequently also of those of its customers, such as Aston Martin and Williams.
But what stands out quite clearly is the compromise found on the strut by the former world champion team. The push-rod arm is, in fact, positioned rather horizontally, especially when compared to competitors’ specifications.
This compromise tends to favour the aerodynamic effect of the profile over the purely mechanical part. Managing this balance will be difficult, especially regarding the excursions of the shock absorbers.
However, in the design of any suspension, designers always make important compromises. These concern angles, attachments and positioning of the internal suspension components. For the reasons outlined above, the Mercedes rear suspension is the first important innovation of this 2024 F1 season.
Brackley is clearly differentiating itself from its rivals.
Author: Piergiuseppe Donadoni
Photo comparisons: Rosario Giuliana
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
