Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso have reason to be optimistic after going on vacation with the best result of the season. This result confirms that the new wind tunnel at Silverstone is working, that the data correlation is accurate and that, therefore, every improvement that has been introduced makes the AMR25 more competitive. However, there is still some concern because the team does not fully understand why the car performs well on some circuits and why it performs so poorly on others, beyond the type of track layout.
Fernando Alonso does not hide his surprise
Fernando Alonso himself was the first to express the team’s feelings at the end of the Hungarian race after achieving the best result of the year, joy at seeing that they can be competitive, but concern at not understanding how they had gone from one of their worst results ever to achieving the best result of the year in a week.
“It’s a surprise, no doubt about it. It’s a nice surprise.” “The good thing is that we were competitive and we were fast. The worrying thing is that we don’t know why.” “We need this week at the factory to analyze exactly what the differences are between Spa and Hungary, what the differences are in the car, in the setup, in the aerodynamic devices we were running with.”
Aston Martin fails in the races
In Hungary, everything went well, but the truth is that Aston Martin has been lost throughout the season. The clear example was at Spa, the team’s worst weekend of the year. They didn’t know how to react to the weather conditions, they didn’t know what to do with the new updates, whether to use them or not. They raced blindly in Saturday’s qualifying, finishing last, and on Sunday they left the pits to change the setup, configuring the AMR25 for wet conditions, only to race in dry conditions. That race was the most drastic example of what the British team’s season has been like throughout the season.
The team is lost, and although it seems that they are slowly finding their way, they still do not understand the behavior of the car, they do not understand why it sometimes works and sometimes does not, beyond whether or not the track is favorable for the overall configuration of the car.
The updates are working
But Aston Martin has reasons to be happy, because the updates are working, and that means that the wind tunnel is working, that the data correlation is correct, that the team is on track towards its main goal, which is to have all the machinery 100% efficient by 2026. The AMR25 continues to climb the grid, now sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and closing in on Williams in fifth place, the team’s goal for the season, which is to be the best team in the midfield.
There are highs and lows at Aston Martin, with a mixed bag of results every weekend. The last one went well, but the worrying thing is that the team doesn’t really know why. It is essential that the team understands what factors influence the performance of the car if they want to achieve results like those obtained last weekend. At least they are going on vacation in the best possible way, and they are convinced that the good results will be repeated in many of the races remaining before the end of the championship.