While Fernando Alonso was seventh to pick up six points in the British Grand Prix, it was a flattering result for his Aston Martin team as the Spaniard, like other drivers, benefited from a well-timed safety car.
Actually, the pace of the AMR23 was again unusually weak compared to the performances shown so far in the 2023 season, where Alonso was able to get on the podium six times in ten races. So where has the Aston Martin pace gone?
“I would say that we didn’t show the performance we wanted on Saturday and Sunday,” sums up team manager Mike Krack. “And the fact that we scored more points than Ferrari, I think, can be described as damage limitation.”
Doesn’t the AMR23 work on traditional racetracks?
Looking at the data it is already noticeable that Aston Martin struggles particularly on the traditional circuits where the asphalt is rougher compared to the street circuits earlier in the season, although the AMR23 has always shown good tire management in the hands of Fernando Alonso.
“I’ve always said you can’t always be on the podium,” adds Krack. “We’ve had six podiums in ten races. I’ve always said there will be moments when things get a little more difficult. And we’ve now had one race where we clearly didn’t have the pace we wanted on Saturday .”
“I think before the race we said we had to rely on our strengths today and I think those are pit stops, race starts and execution and strategy. And that worked out quite well. We could rely on all of that. And I think that allowed us to still come home with decent points.”
So is Aston Martin’s drop in form just a result of the other chasing teams not really understanding their cars early in the season and getting the curve with some upgrades? McLaren would be the best example of this, who were even the second force behind Red Bull at Silverstone.
Krack about McLaren: “Concern is the wrong word”
However, Krack remains calm: “Concern is the wrong word. I think it confirms what I’ve always said: we have to be careful about defining a pecking order too quickly. So we have an up and down swing. We have, for example I saw in Austria that Mercedes were pretty far away, but in Barcelona they were very strong.”
“We were very strong in Canada, it’s not that long ago that we were fighting for the podium. That’s why I always say we have to wait two to four races to know where the pecking order is. And I think we should keep it.”
“Sure can [McLarens Pace] not go unnoticed, but it was a race where you try to fight for top positions with both cars and we weren’t fighting for a podium anyway. So in those situations you focus more on yourself.”
Are expectations of Aston Martin exaggerated?
So it’s all just a question of the expectations placed on Aston Martin, which from the outside might be exaggerated after Fernando Alonso’s sensational start to the season, considering that the Silverstone-based team finished seventh in the World Team Championship last year?
“The expectations have increased with six podium places,” says Krack. “It’s normal that expectations are high. And we’ll keep trying to live up to expectations. I think it’s a compliment that we have those expectations, it shows we’ve done our job.”
“But we have to keep in mind that we have a lot of races ahead of us that have completely different characteristics than the previous ones,” explains the Luxembourger. “The calendar is designed so that at the beginning you have races with less downforce depending on how you classify them, and then there are more races where we might be able to be better. Those are all things that we can do based on the analysis of the have to wait for the next three races, I think.”
Budapest an Aston Martin track again?
The track in Budapest may now come at the right time to steer the form curve back in the right direction. The AMR23’s top speed deficit isn’t as pronounced on the short straights and alongside Singapore, the Hungaroring is probably the circuit on the Formula 1 calendar most similar in characteristics to Monaco, where Fernando Alonso finished second this year. In addition, new parts are to come to the car.
“We’re realists, we’ve always been, we’ve never been dreamers,” says Krack, dampening the euphoria of a second Monaco. “So we’re going to look at the track and our car and see how we can set it up for that. If you look at the characteristics of the track, it should suit our car better than other tracks we’ve been to before.”
“But I think we can look ahead to Budapest, we’ll have free practice, we’ll bring new parts to Budapest and we’ll be able to test them. Of course, Spa afterwards will be a bit more difficult because you have a different one simply because of the track package. But that’s the same for everyone. We have to do our homework there again and try to make the best of the situation.”
Aston Martin wants to overcome qualification weakness
However, at the Hungaroring, a track that has historically been difficult to overtake on, qualifying will be all the more crucial. In this discipline, however, Aston Martin has had its problems so far. On average for the season, Red Bull is 0.54 seconds short of a fast lap, which puts them third behind Ferrari (+0.22) and just ahead of Mercedes (+0.55).
“Qualifying is key, especially at tracks where it’s harder to overtake like the track ahead, although it’s a lot easier now than it used to be,” says Krack. “But I think qualifying performance is the key to being up front in Formula 1, no matter where you drive. The stats don’t lie. It’s a general improvement that we need to make to our car. But it starts with analyzing your weaknesses based on current events.”
Krack: That would be a good season for us…
There is still the question of what would be a good season result for Aston Martin based on the latest developments in the Formula 1 balance of power. The British team is currently third in the constructors’ championship.
Krack replies, “That’s a question I haven’t asked myself yet! I think the season is already very respectable. If you see where we’re coming from, we’ve got six podiums in ten races.”
“Even if it were six podiums in 22 races, I think it’s a very respectable season compared to where we’re from and what our goals for the season were, but we’re not going to give up now and take it for granted permit.”