(Motorsport-Total.com) – The Austrian Formula 1 race revealed the bitter reality of Aston Martin. The team was almost three seconds off the pace in Q1 – and that on one of the shortest laps of the year. Even worse: Fernando Alonso was a full second slower than rookie Cadillac. The Americans are pulling away from Aston Martin.
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But: This is also due to the development strategy: Cadillac had a comprehensive package with ten announced upgrades, Aston Martin had: nothing. Apart from Williams, they were the only team that had not brought any updates to the car in the two weeks since Barcelona.
At Aston Martin, they are relying on a major upgrade that is supposed to come for the race in Hungary before the summer break, instead of bringing smaller improvements to every race. This naturally has a negative impact on the current pace. “That was a painful decision,” admits designer Adrian Newey.
“While others have added performance, we have practically stood still in comparison,” says the Englishman at AstonMartinF1.com. “That can make every weekend feel even more painful than the previous one.”
This became apparent in Austria, where Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were once again without a chance. Stroll had to retire early from the race again due to an ERS problem, Alonso finished 18th and a distant last, three laps behind the winner.
What’s in the new upgrade
But for Newey, the temporary abstention from upgrades is “the right decision” and “the right investment in our future,” as he says. “Our partners understand that this is a necessary dry spell that we honestly just have to get through in order to come out stronger in the end.”
“We want to make a solid step forward in the second half of the season and an even bigger one for next year,” says Newey.
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The focus is on a major upgrade that is to be introduced on both cars in Hungary – the last race before the summer break.
Newey explains what will change on the car: “The front suspension remains unchanged, the rear suspension has been slightly modified. We have developed a new nose and fundamentally revised the aerodynamic surfaces,” he lists.
“So even though the core structure remains similar, it is a large aerodynamic package, combined with a significant weight reduction. The goal is to get very close to the weight limit,” says the designer. This will also require a new homologation and a new crash test of the front chassis part.
Why Newey is still holding back on predictions
Newey himself expects “a big step,” according to his own statement, but wants to hold back on concrete numbers. Because: “Our simulation tools are simply not yet as advanced and the data not yet as precisely matched to reality as it should be.”
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He criticizes: “In the past, this team simply invested too little in technical simulation tools – and I don’t just mean project management systems, but the fundamental physical tools themselves.”
“We are now catching up on these investments, but you don’t write and validate such programs overnight. It takes time to tune them exactly to the real car,” says Newey. “They are improving at the moment, but the real benefit from this work will only show later in the year.”
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