It wasn’t the best weekend to test the new Aston Martin update package. Rain at Silverstone on Sunday prevented us from seeing the real potential of the AMR25. However, the team is confident that these three weeks will allow them to analyze the data to get the best performance at Spa, where, as confirmed by Andy Cowell, there will be a new upgrade to complement this weekend’s changes and optimize the current package.
Updates at Silverstone
It’s normal when new parts are introduced: Friday is a day for testing everything, trying out different configurations to see how the new parts evolve, understand their behavior, and how effective they are. This setup requires time to optimize, which is difficult to achieve in the first Grand Prix where they are introduced.
This is even more so in the race, where you get the best data and can compare yourself with your rivals, and where adverse weather conditions such as those experienced this weekend at Silverstone can arise.
“We did all the experiments on Friday. On Friday afternoon, we decided to leave the floor and bodywork work on both cars, which is what we did. Fortunately, we didn’t have any problems because we didn’t have any spare parts, and now I can say that.
“But really, in conditions like today’s, you don’t gather much information about the aerodynamic package because you’re racing in very changeable conditions. So it will be a challenge for everyone to review the data tomorrow. And then, normally, we have a meeting on Tuesday morning to talk about how everything went, which gives everyone time to travel or review the data. And then we’ll make a decision and move forward based on the data.”
News for Spa from Aston Martin
Andy Cowell confirmed that at the next GP in Spa, Belgium, Aston Martin will receive one more upgrade that will complement these updates and optimize the current package.
“And we have another important piece that we will bring to Spa,” confirmed the CEO, who announced a lot of work ahead of the next race. “Let’s analyze the data we have. Let’s analyze the information available at Spa. And then let’s decide what to do. Spa is a very different circuit. A different mix of corners, a long and wide circuit. Therefore, it is more challenging in terms of energy use. And I have no idea what the weather forecast will be like there. It could be quite spectacular, right?”
The truth is that Aston Martin’s improvements are unknown and it is unclear what their actual performance will be once optimized, but it does seem that they have improved the car enough. Fernando Alonso was able to run the last laps at Silverstone on dry tires. After an early stop to fit the medium tires and losing a lot of time, the Oviedo native began to fly around Silverstone once the British track had dried out, managing to recover six positions, although he lost one on the last lap when he ran out of tires, to the benefit of Albon.
Now F1 takes a three-week break, the first of two during the summer. At the end of July, Belgium is next, followed by Hungary the following week, and then there will be another three-week break until the final stretch of the season begins at Zandvoort on the last weekend of August. This will give Aston Martin enough time to analyze the new updates, gather data, and put together the best setup for Fernando Alonso to take the AMR25 to the front of the grid.