Aston Martin fine-tunes new concept
The new Aston Martin is better over a fast lap than over the distance. Last year it was the other way round. That's because the engineers have taken a different approach with the AMR24. This should pay off later.
Aston Martin is no longer an underdog. In the past, they would have celebrated fifth place with 25 points and one point behind Mercedes. Now the Silverstone-based racing team has to put up with the question of why things are not going better. Podium places are currently out of reach. The green cars only shine on Saturday.
Fernando Alonso put his car in sixth place on the grid in Bahrain, fourth in Jeddah and tenth in Melbourne only because he damaged his underbody in a spin in turn 6. Otherwise, a place on the third row of the grid would have been possible.
If Aston Martin wants to defend these positions in the race, it needs a perfect strategy, puncture-free pit stops, a bit of racing luck and an Alonso in top form. In Melbourne, the chief driver made too many mistakes in practice.
And in the race, he received a questionable penalty for a defensive battle in which he pushed what was allowed to the limit. It was a duel with George Russell for sixth place. Eight points currently counts as a small victory.
In qualifying, it helps that the Aston Martin gets its tyres up to temperature quickly. In the race it becomes a disadvantage.
DRS effect helps especially in qualifying
Last year, Sundays were generally better than Saturdays. Now it's the other way round. There are many reasons for this. The DRS effect is significantly better with the new car than with the old one. With open DRS, this brings a lot of lap time in qualifying, especially on tracks with three or four overtaking zones. In the race, the rear wing usually remains closed.
"And then you no longer have the fresh tyre to help you over the grip-limited areas," explains Chief Engineer Tom McCullough. The new AMR24 is also a car that gets its tyres up to temperature quickly. "You pay for that on Sunday, because you demand the opposite from the tyres," compares Alonso. What's more, the engineers find it more difficult to balance the cars.
The Astons suffer from instability on the front axle. If you counteract too much with the front wing or the suspension settings, the rear suffers. The golden compromise is a fine line that is difficult to strike. Even more so in the race, because the car is constantly changing and you're racing on different types of tyres.
The soft tyres help to conceal the car's weaknesses in qualifying. They only become apparent over the distance.
Fast corners better than slow ones
The consequence is heavy tyre wear. Lance Stroll does not want to use his strong race to catch up in Bahrain as a counter-example. "It's enough for the five teams in the second half of the field. But compared to the four in front of us, our tyres are degrading too much." However, Alonso is already seeing progress: "We have reduced tyre wear since the first race."
According to Stroll, the AMR24 builds up more grip than its predecessor, but the driving characteristics cannot be compared. "This car requires a different driving style to get the maximum out of it." The old man in the team is better at this. You can see it in the increased time differences.
The 2024 Aston Martin is better at fast corners than slow ones. It used to be the other way round. "But the car gives us more scope for development, and that will pay off later in the season," hopes Team Principal Mike Krack.
A new rear wing was fitted to the car in Jeddah and a modified front wing in Melbourne. Upgrades will also be in the bag at Suzuka, before the first major package is unpacked at Imola. With the risk that the direct opponents will neutralise each other. All the other teams will also bring their retreaded cars to the European opener.
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... vs-rennen/