Aston Martin is already testing for 2024, which explains their underperformance towards the end of the year
Excellent car at the beginning of the season, Aston Martin has lost power since the British Grand Prix. After the team's eighth podium finish last weekend in Brazil, Tom McCullough, the team's chief engineer, detailed the reasons for the team's gradual decline.
Eight podium finishes this season, all achieved by Fernando Alonso, the fifth team in the constructor championship, Aston Martin is progressing compared to the previous season. The start of the championship was very positive for the British team with six podium finishes in the first eight races of the season. Alonso finished third in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Miami. The Spaniard secured two second places during the Monaco and Canada Grand Prix. Since then, there has been a decline.
The team experienced two dry spells. The first one occurred between the Canadian Grand Prix on June 18th and the Dutch Grand Prix on August 27th, which meant four races without a podium. The second one lasted for six races, where the green team did not make it to the podium, from Alonso’s second place finish at Zandvoort to his third place finish in Brazil. Additionally, there were three retirements, two for Alonso at the Austin and Mexico tracks, and one for Stroll also in Mexico, in two consecutive Grand Prix.
These periods of scarcity can be explained by increased competition. Since the British Grand Prix, McLaren has returned to the forefront after a poor start to the season. Norris has achieved seven podium finishes, while Piastri has secured two podiums and won the Sprint race in Qatar.
« We have done too much development work »
After Alonso’s podium in Brazil, Tom McCullough, Aston Martin’s chief engineer, described the Spaniard’s performance as “relative”. « Nine weeks ago, at Zandvoort, we had a car that we were very satisfied with. But it was specific to the circuit, we introduced some improvements, and then we did too much development work in the eyes of everyone in the two weekends leading up to Brazil, which may not have been the right thing to do. We are very happy because we understand well how to extract the best from the car, it is important for next year. But now, we want a good end to the season », explained the head of the green team’s performance to the media.
The team is therefore testing new parts and also making progress on its development for next year.
« We have conducted very important tests for next year, we now have a lot of data and it is about putting the best possible specifications on the car and having good weekends. It is difficult to do so much development, especially on sprint weekends. We do not like starting from the pit lane. We have done what we had to do on the track, it was not easy, but that’s what happens when you have a poor first practice session in a Sprint Grand Prix,” added Tom McCullough.
