6 podiums in the first 8 races, of the 12 in total in this first half of the calendar. This is the balance of the first part of the season for the team led by Lawrence Stroll who, however, suffered a setback from the Austrian Grand Prix. The Aston Martin was a real revelation. The team's work has brought a very competitive single-seater to the track, the result of a study of the competition and the experience of Dan Fallows, technical director since 2022. The 6 podiums of Fernando Alonso they quickly moved the English team up to second place in the constructors' championship. But with the arrival of the first updates from the opponents and from Aston itself, the music has changed. The team no longer matched the performance achieved in the first races. There is no real motivation at the moment. However, in the paddock there is talk of an intervention by the FIA, which would have forced the team to review its front wing, thus affecting performance. This entry was also commented on by the team's Team Principal, mike krack.
What is hidden in the performance drop?
After the Austrian Grand Prix Aston Martin was no longer able to fight for the podium. The team had to settle for two fifth places as best results. Against Mercedes, Ferrari e McLaren they have made steps forward, occupying that coveted third step of the podium. Mercedes also overtook Aston in the standings. Ferrari has also come very close and is aiming to overtake in the second phase of the season. The causes of this sudden drop may lie in the updates brought by the team. However, there are questions about other external factors that would have had an impact.
Fernando Alonso pointed the finger at Pirelli and the new specification of tires that debuted a few Grand Prix ago, at Silverstone, and which would have reshuffled the values on the field. While the rumors in the paddock speak of an FIA intervention on the Aston Martin front wing, and of the suspected coincidence with the drop in performance from Austria onwards. On this last hypothesis, Mike Krack responded, if I may say so, with an enigmatic: “I neither confirm nor deny“ – to the question of Ted Kravitz, correspondent of Sky Sports F1 UK,.
According to Krack, the cause must be found in the updates that the team is still studying: “We have introduced something that takes time to understand. The developments worked, but they need to be adjusted little by little. We can't go into details, but the parts we will bring to the track in the coming weeks will solve these problems".
Source statements: FormulaPassion
