2023 Aston Martin | Aramco | Cognizant F1 Team

[KimiRai]

IMO in Austria AMR on paper will a have a strong S1, while S2 and S3 will show us how the upgrades actually affected some of the cars previous (let's say) weaknesses.
If S2 is really strong and close to RBR and Mercedes , updates are working like a charm. If S3 is also strong and close to RBR then don't wake me up. Let me live the dream..

Mike Krack:

“And there is some tracks coming now where you have a lot of high-speed corners, and I think we improved our car in high-speed corners, which we have not so many here. [in Canada]

“So actually, we’re looking forward to them, because in such circuits I think we will also see the true strength of the Red Bull, and also it means we have a better indication of how far we are away.”

At least in paper, they should be able to achieve a better compromise for high speed corners now that the working window has widened with the updates. But we'll see of course. Only problem is that Austria offers just a single free practice but that's the formula of today, the same for all other teams.

[NAPI10]

Not sure if it will happen or not but just imagining Charles & Alonso as team-mates gives me chills -
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula- ... c-30298664

[Zynerji]

Not sure if it will happen or not but just imagining Charles & Alonso as team-mates gives me chills -
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula- ... c-30298664

I think it would reset most folks opinion of Charles' quality as a driver.

[Just_a_fan]

Not sure if it will happen or not but just imagining Charles & Alonso as team-mates gives me chills -
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula- ... c-30298664

That's just Ralf thinking out loud...

However, it would show us what Leclerc is really capable of - with a known quantity like Fernando in the other car, he either has to shine brightly or see his career options reduce. If he wasn't able to compete with Fernando then he would be marked as a tier 2 driver in teams' eyes.

[F1doc]

Leclerc would be an upgrade on Stroll though.

Again, wishful thinking as it isn't likely Lance will move out the way and will remain a dead weight on the team.

Last season P6 in the constructors was possible if he added more than the 18pts compared to 37pts from Vettel. This year P2 is achievable but in reality it will be likely P3/4 as Mercedes and Ferrari have a vastly more competitive driver pairing.

[604gtir]

I personally would like to see AMR get Norris rather than Charles.

[AR3-GP]

I don't see the point. A healthy F1 requires a healthy distribution of the driving talent.

[diffuser]

Im not as convinced as to how well their upgrades performed. Max had bird stuck in his break duct for the whole race and it still wasn't close, AM's own fuel problems not withstanding. I think Merc is better on front limited circuits now and fairly close on even traction heavy circuits like Villeneuve. Merc also has a big upgrade coming to Silverstone and their upgrades seem to be targetting what I feel is the key to all round performance which is a stable platform. Both RB and recently Merc have focused heavily on suspension work.

AM also has one of the worst strategy tems on the grid. One lap too late in Q2 to pit to slicks, even though Verstappen and RB did that while running ahead of them. Why not just copy the team that knows what it's doing even when ure not sure.

Disagree that it was the wrong strategy. The goal in Q2 is to get to Q3. They did that while minimizing risks of hitting the wall.

Alonso had a big setup changed planned for FP3 that the had to abandon cause of the rain. Think we don't really know how good the upgrades are.


There was a rear suspension upgrade/mod by AMR in Canada.

[peewon]

Im not as convinced as to how well their upgrades performed. Max had bird stuck in his break duct for the whole race and it still wasn't close, AM's own fuel problems not withstanding. I think Merc is better on front limited circuits now and fairly close on even traction heavy circuits like Villeneuve. Merc also has a big upgrade coming to Silverstone and their upgrades seem to be targetting what I feel is the key to all round performance which is a stable platform. Both RB and recently Merc have focused heavily on suspension work.

AM also has one of the worst strategy tems on the grid. One lap too late in Q2 to pit to slicks, even though Verstappen and RB did that while running ahead of them. Why not just copy the team that knows what it's doing even when ure not sure.

Disagree that it was the wrong strategy. The goal in Q2 is to get to Q3. They did that while minimizing risks of hitting the wall.

Alonso had a big setup changed planned for FP3 that the had to abandon cause of the rain. Think we don't really know how good the upgrades are.


There was a rear suspension upgrade/mod by AMR in Canada.

There is no way they could've predicted how much the times will tumble and when it might rain again. Thats only hindsight. Alonso is one of the safest drivers on the grid. If RB felt the need to get on the slicks then there is no way AM shouldve been confident on making it on inters. And they got on the slicks but only a lap too late when it was much wetter, which clearly eliminates any rationale of trying to play it safe.

Of course there are other examples of poor strategy decisions too like Miami and Monaco. But I can hardly think of one where they strategy swung a result in their favor which they werent in line to get.

As for the upgrades, there is more room for benefit of doubt but seeing Alonso having to defend from Hamilton after passing him, even though he had DRS and Hamilton didnt seemed a bit jarring. Not to mention they were constantly losing 3-4 tenths to RB in the final sector alone suggesting the efficiency still isnt there. Could be due to lack of setup opportunities but I dont see the obvious signs of them working to the degree of others. That one may be TBD.

[-wkst-]

There was a rear suspension upgrade/mod by AMR in Canada.

But not in the official list.

[diffuser]

There was a rear suspension upgrade/mod by AMR in Canada.

But not in the official list.

Didn't the official list say they changed the engine cover?

[KimiRai]

Stroll's lack of shine this year is actually giving Alonso the room to excel. Aston Martin needs a slightly improved version of Stroll.

I agree. I like the mentality and respect they have between the two now, like Stroll not overtaking Fernando because he knew they were playing the same game. Compare that with Ocon in Jeddah or Hungary 2022 for example. It's a great dynamic: less crashes, less time lost in races, less everything. If you were to replace him with Leclerc the team dynamic would probably worsen quite a bit because two very talented drivers together can often end very bad.

Fernando's two WDCs were with Fisichella. In my opinion that's a good role for Lance and also for the team, he just needs to up his game a bit because even Fisico scored podiums and a couple race wins.

An Alonso-Lance lineup is perfectly fine as long as Lance returns to the level of Bahrain or Jeddah this year where he did quite well considering the circumstances. That overtake he did on Sainz on the outside was great, it's those peaks everyone knows he is capable of doing, but he needs to work on the consistency. If he does then these talks will die out because he'll be a perfect teammate.

[avantman]

From current F1 drivers only Verstapen and Hamilton could match Alonso in same car. And only in Qualifying.

yeah, and Stroll on occasion too. He's done that in Barcelona.

[mvfad]

Alonso is among the best in Formula 1 history, but he is old. He manages to remain an excellent driver even old because he is one of the best of all time, however, he is no longer the same as before. I see some of you talking as if the Alonso of today was the same as he was 10 years ago when he was at his peak. Age makes a lot of difference.

His current achievements are overrated because his teammate is not an above-average driver. Ocon is an average driver, so things were tighter at Alpine. And Leclerc is a far above-average driver and therefore would have full conditions to beat old Alonso at least by a small margin.

[Vanja #66]

Is this enough OT? Alonso v Hamilton in 2007 has nothing to do with 2023 AMR