Three podiums in three races, all signed by Fernando Alonso. The AMR23 is in fact the second best car of the lot after the first rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship thanks also to the second place in the Constructors’ Championship with 65 points collected. The leap in quality compared to 2022 is so large that only the team’s numbers can partially explain it. Yet, all this is not enough for Lawrence Stroll.
Although the Aston Martin Racing headquarters in Silverstone is in complete turmoil due to the works that should make it much more modern and ready to face the team’s future challenges in Formula 1, the team directed by Mike Krack started the World Championship not only in surprising, but also convincing and with rosy prospects.
The AMR23 is not just a copy of the RB19, as defined by the men of Milton Keynes. It is similar in terms of concepts, but – just look at the solutions adopted on the bellies – also the bearer of a refinement of the concept that goes beyond copying, beyond reinterpretation.
The road, therefore, seems right, but for the owner Lawrence Stroll all this is not enough. This was said by Mike Krack, team principal of the British team, following the third podium in a row signed by Fernando Alonso.
“It’s pretty simple,” admitted Krack. “Lawrence’s (Stroll) mission and objective are quite clear. He didn’t take long to tell us when we should win the next race. Obviously he’s happy with the progress we’ve made so far, but this isn’t enough for his ambitions The beauty of dealing with Lawrence is that you always know exactly where you stand. He wants more and we’re going to have to do more.”
To do more than this, the current AMR23 will not be enough. From now on, the war of developments begins, where each team will try to make the most of their resources – paying close attention to the spending limit imposed by the Budget Cap – to make their respective single-seaters better and continue to progress to pursue their goals.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position, on the podium
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Aston Martin knows perfectly well that taking the great improvement steps seen in 2022 will be difficult. This year the AMR23 is a much more competitive base than its progenitor, which is why the team expects to have material that can serve the cause, but that doesn’t have the potential to disproportionately improve a single-seater that was already very well born.
“Last year we managed to develop the car in a substantial way. This year we started from a higher base, so it won’t be as easy as last year, but we have to make progress if we want to stay where we are, because even if we don’t “We do nothing. We’ll go backwards. I’m pretty confident we can make performance upgrades to the car, but because it’s all connected. Only over time will we know if it’s efficient or not.”
“I think we have a great car, but Red Bull are substantially faster on the straights and that’s something we will definitely have to work on.”
“The break at this point in the season is a problem for us, we didn’t want to, but it will be like this for everyone. It doesn’t change anything in our plans. The Chinese Grand Prix was on the calendar and then it was cancelled, so we’ll use this time to do our job as well as our rivals will do. Here too the battle of developments has begun and it is independent of whether a race is held or not. Everyone will be fully committed,” concluded the Aston Martin team principal .
Read also:
