The long fall of Aston Martin

Everything had started well for Aston Martin in 2023 with six podium finishes in the first eight races of the season. Up until the Singapore Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso, behind the wheel of the AMR23, had scored points in every race. Alonso’s form was enough to keep the team in second place in the constructor’s standings during the first phase of the season. However, Aston Martin subsequently dropped to fifth place in the championship, with four races remaining. The Mexican Grand Prix dealt another blow to the team, with a double retirement that continues to drag down Aston Martin.

Despite this, Alonso still says he is extremely satisfied with their season. “Obviously, we would like to continue fighting for podiums, but unfortunately, we are not capable of it,” he said. “But no, it’s not yet frustrating. […] This year has been an incredible season for us, so even if we miss the remaining races, 2023 remains a good season. But I hope we can reverse this situation and finish on a high note.”

For Mike Krack, CEO of Aston Martin, interviewed on Sky Sports F1 before the Mexican Grand Prix, he replied: “Last year, we started with a poorly performing car and we improved it throughout the season, like others are doing now. This year was the opposite. We started very well and we couldn’t maintain that pace throughout the year. In the race for development, if you have a performing car, it becomes increasingly difficult to improve it. But we need to be honest with ourselves. We have been surpassed by some and we need to do a better job in this area in the future, in terms of development speed, manufacturing speed, and understanding.”

But after the new setback that occurred at the Mexico Grand Prix, with Aston Martin’s double retirement, Mike Krack denies all allegations when asked if his team is losing its way. « “I think that when you’re lost, you roll the dice, you try things that are unreasonable, and that’s not the case.” […] We have very targeted technical discussions, weighing the options against each other. And even if we don’t want to race from the pit lane, it’s very important that we understand the discoveries we have within the team and then make pragmatic decisions »,” he explains in a press conference, before adding, « “It’s not easy, but it’s the right way to move forward ».”

A descent into hell that shows no signs of stopping.

After this gradual loss of performance, Aston Martin decided to make improvements to the car for the United States Grand Prix. However, these modifications did not help the drivers, as demonstrated by Alonso after the qualifying sessions of the Mexican Grand Prix. « The car is very delicate. […] In a high-speed turn, I lost control of the car, and today it’s on the rumble strips. It seems like we’re always on the edge. I’ve been slow in every session, so it’s not a bad qualifying, but we’ve struggled the entire weekend. We need to work together to get back to our best level, which obviously isn’t the one we’re showing ».

According to Richard Bradley, winner of the 2015 LMP2 Le Mans, Aston Martin is going to have a very complicated winter, he stated in the podcast On Track GP. Bradley believes that Aston Martin’s current weaknesses will continue during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where once again the cooling of the AMR23 will be put to the test. Regarding retirements, Brazil is another high-altitude circuit, so if it’s a cooling problem, they will have big issues. Additionally, Brazil has a much lower average speed, therefore much less cooling. […] So, it wouldn’t surprise me if they also had a double retirement next weekend.

When asked if the Austin upgrade program was holding them back, Fernando doesn’t seem to agree.

« We have no worries about that. The Austin race served as a comparison between the two packs and the results were clearly in favor of the new pack. It seems that we are not very confident in the car, in the driving. We cannot extract the maximum from it and it penalizes us a lot ».