(Motorsport-Total.com) – Aston Martin continues to struggle in Formula 1 to catch up with the midfield. At the Miami Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll did see the checkered flag, but the previous gap to the competition was hardly reduced.
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It also remains unclear whether the vibrations on the AMR26 are now finally history. “There were fewer vibrations,” Stroll confirms the suspicion from Saturday, but does not want to commit to whether the vibrations and the resulting problems have really completely disappeared. “I don’t know, it’s okay.”
The Canadian made a total of two pit stops during the race. “I don’t know exactly what we did,” the Aston Martin driver himself pondered about the strategy. “I think we tried to get some clean air, and that was it.”
However, Stroll also made a heavy lock-up in the last corner during the first stint, which ruined his tires. “After that, it was just about collecting kilometers in the car. It was the first time we finished the race, that was good.”
Honda: “Found a way to reduce most of the vibrations”
The Aston Martin driver admits that he “didn’t learn much” during the race. For Lance Stroll, Sunday was mainly about completing as many laps as possible to gather valuable insights for engine partner Honda.
“We have found a way to reduce most of the vibrations, which helps us ensure more reliability, even under very hot conditions like the sprint race on Saturday,” adds Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara.
“It is a small step in the right direction that allows us to work harder to find more performance,” the Japanese engineer sees initial progress. “It will take time, but this weekend has ticked some boxes that help us move forward.”
Orihara explains that the vibrations come from the engine but are transmitted to the chassis. “That means we need countermeasures from both sides, which we combine into a single measure, and that works very well.”
Fernando Alonso hopes for possible rain shower
Fernando Alonso confirms that the vibrations “disappeared during the race,” but still sees significant catching up needed in performance. “Only the reliability is somewhat better. We had no problems, the vibrations are better, but the performance is very similar to Japan.”
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The Spaniard delayed his pit stop in the race as long as possible to speculate on the announced rain. “It could have come, one could have avoided a stop, but it doesn’t change much because we are one stop behind the next car,” Alonso admits.
“Even if it rains and [the competition] makes an additional pit stop, they are still ahead of us, so there is not much we can play with. But we try to learn something about strategy management and tire management.”
In the first three races, Aston Martin was hardly able to complete laps due to problems. “Now we managed to finish the race for the very first time with both cars,” Alonso recalls. “So we had some improvements in reliability, and that is what we have to take positively from Miami.”
Aston Martin: Gearbox apparently causes problems in Miami
Alonso also reveals that in Miami it was less the engine but rather the gearbox that still caused difficulties. “Something with the electronics, it was very strange when downshifting and upshifting, so not very well controlled,” the 44-year-old ponders. “So that is solution number one for Canada.”
Due to the numerous hard braking zones in Canada, Aston Martin must “improve the gearbox behavior at the moment,” demands the Spaniard, who finished 15th in Miami and left not only teammate Stroll but also the two Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez behind.
“Our focus during the break was to work together with Honda to reduce the vibrations of the power unit into the chassis – this work has paid off and we have made an important step towards reliability this weekend,” adds Mike Krack.
“That is positive,” emphasizes the experienced Trackside Engineering Officer of Aston Martin, “but there is clearly more we need to do together to improve our pace and unlock the potential of this package.”
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