Last Monday, Aston Martin held an emergency meeting to seek solutions to the team’s poor start to the F1 World Championship. The AMR25 is the ninth car, and the conclusion of the meeting was that there were problems with the data obtained in the wind tunnel, which would have caused the poor configuration of the AMR25.
The wind tunnel error
The wind tunnel has been one of the major problems Aston Martin has suffered in recent years. The lack of a tunnel of its own meant that Aston Martin had to rent facilities from the Mercedes team. Now Aston Martin finally has its own, which was unveiled in March this year. And the data obtained has been surprising and explains what the team’s problem has been during the season.
The data produced by the new wind tunnel is completely different from the data obtained at the Mercedes factory. The current car was built using the data obtained, and the results on the track were not understood. But now everything makes sense, and since the new technology was unveiled, work has been underway on updates to take a step forward.
AMR25 updates
With the Aston Martin wind tunnel working at full capacity, the factory has been working for almost two months on new updates to improve the AMR25. These first updates will arrive in the next two races of the championship. First in this weekend’s race, the Miami Grand Prix, where Aston Martin plans to incorporate the first new parts into the car. It won’t be a very extensive package, but the car is expected to improve slightly.
However, the big change will come at the next Italian F1 Grand Prix. On May 18, the Grand Circus returns to Europe, and Aston Martin hopes to debut the first major upgrade package of the season, the first of two that will arrive this season (the second is expected in the second half of the season).
Aston Martin has a tough task ahead. The setback for this campaign has been very significant, and they need to make up about five tenths of a second per lap to get the AMR25 into the top 10, which is the team’s goal, but such a pronounced improvement does not seem like an easy task.
Aston Martin’s expectations
The team itself is aware that such a significant improvement will be difficult, but Andy Cowell, Aston Martin’s chief engineer, is confident that significant improvements can be made.
“The new updates bear the hallmark of the new wind tunnel, which has been an eye-opener.”
Outwardly, however, they are cautious about how these improvements will affect the team given their poor start to the season. However, behind closed doors, there is ambition and confidence that they have found the key to getting the AMR25 into the points.
Aston Martin is taking a gamble. The new wind tunnel is one of the keys to success, and its data will be crucial in enabling the team to achieve its goals. If they manage to improve in the next few races, it will be an indication that the new technology is working, and they will be able to work with confidence towards next season and the creation of the AMR26, the team’s real goal for the coming years. Next weekend we will see if these updates are successful, and in two weeks’ time we will see if they finally take the step forward to put the AMR25 where it should be.