Aston Martin suffered from a nightmarish development cycle last year, but their objective is to find regular improvement across the 2024 campaign. The Silverstone-based outfit is entering a crucial phase as they work to become an established top team in Formula 1.
Last week’s Saudi Arabia GP was encouraging for Aston Martin, though it still demonstrated key vulnerabilities.
Fernando Alonso was again highly competitive in qualifying, securing a starting position on the second-row of the grid. It was a matter of mere hundredths that denied the Spaniard a P2 slot.
However, the race again exposed the limitations of the AMR24 over a race distance.
On paper, falling from 4th to 5th is nothing dramatic. Moreover, in the context of Alonso’s regression in the first round, this was actually an early improvement.
The concern for Lawrence Stroll’s team is shown more clearly in the deltas.
Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari was about four-tenths per lap faster than the Double World Champion. This was a substantial jump, putting Alonso out of contention for a podium finish.
Similar regressions occurred relative to Red Bull and McLaren as well. Even Mercedes were far closer on high fuel relative to qualifying.
It goes without saying that, in a sport where race day is king, this is a problem.
Of additional concern is that the AMR24 is largely a new concept for Aston Martin. Whilst a positive in terms of the team’s medium-term potential, it represents a puzzle for the Silverstone engineers to solve.
Dan Fallows emphasised during pre-season that mid-season development would be a far smoother process in 2024.
Many of the team’s choices when constructing the AMR24 factored in the importance of creating a strong platform for regular improvement.
Team principal Mike Krack echoed a similar sentiment after the second race of the season concluded:
“We are very positive for the upcoming races,” racingnews365 quotes him as saying.
“In Saudi Arabia, we already made some small updates, and more are coming in the coming weeks.
“We want to keep developing this car continuously and not wait too long. All the upcoming races will have car updates.
“The lessons we learned last year were sometimes very tough, but very, very important…
“We have changed some things in our process in order to always be 100% in what we are doing.”
Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24.
02.03.2024. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 1, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, Bahrain, Race Day.
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It seems safe to conclude that Aston Martin progressed between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Although Jeddah is a very friendly circuit for tyres, the AMR24 undoubtedly made a step forward last week.
The question is whether this progress will be maintained and – ideally – accelerated with upgrades and a better understanding of the car.
At the end of last season, Aston Martin were quite adamant they learned their lessons from the AMR23’s turbulent trajectory.
Whilst there are reasons to believe this is true, Mike Krack must ensure his F1 personnel continue to extract more potential from their 2024 challenger.
With five teams already established near the front, there is no margin for error. Any mistakes or failures to understand the car will be difficult to recover from.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
