Aston martin vantage gt

Williams team principal James Vowles was asked about the significant steps forward made at Aston Martin this season, and he attributes it to aerodynamic development and having an “outstanding driver” in Fernando Alonso. Alonso raced his way onto the podium in the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Aston Martin producing a car in 2023 that has shown itself capable of challenging among the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, having finished seventh in the Constructors’ Championship in the past two seasons. An aggressive hiring strategy from team owner Lawrence Stroll has seen the team hire new staff members from all around the grid, as ‘Team Silverstone’ has expanded its staff base by more than 150 people in its mission to upset the established order in Formula 1, along with constructing a new and improved factory – with a new office building due to open in May. Alonso replaced the now-retired Sebastian Vettel in time for this season at Aston Martin to partner Lance Stroll, and his flying start … [Read more...] about James Vowles identifies the two clear factors behind Aston Martin’s surge

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack says we should stayed tuned to F1 2023, as he does not expect Red Bull to stay so dominant. Red Bull truly have been in a class of their own in the early stages of the F1 2023 season, accounting for both pole positions and race wins on offer so far. Max Verstappen took pole and the win in Bahrain, before Sergio Perez pulled off that achievement in Saudi Arabia as the drivers ensured a Red Bull one-two finish in both races. Race pace has been an especially concerning strength for Red Bull, with Aston Martin, via Fernando Alonso, on both occasions joining the Red Bull duo on the podium, yet he is still to finish within 15 seconds of a Red Bull at the chequered flag in F1 2023. It already then is the case that a big performance swing will be needed if Red Bull are to be challenged under normal circumstances this season, though Aston Martin team boss Krack remains of the belief that the advantage can be whittled down. “The season is long. I … [Read more...] about Aston Martin boss delivers hope that Red Bull’s mighty advantage can be reduced

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has acknowledged that the eight-time Formula 1 Constructors’ Champions have “a lot to learn” from customer team Aston Martin in light of their strong start to the 2023 season. After being restricted to a single win last year, Mercedes had hoped to return to title-winning contention in 2023 but appear to have fallen behind Aston Martin – a lowly seventh in the 2022 standings –  in the competitive order. Having seen his drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, lap slower than Fernando Alonso’s AMR23 in qualifying at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Wolff commented that Aston Martin had “gained two seconds in six months and their car is half ours”. That remark referred to the close technical partnership between the two teams, which sees Aston Martin compete with a Mercedes engine as well as their gearbox and rear suspension. The Silverstone-based outfit also have access to Mercedes’ wind tunnel. The similarities between the Aston Martin car and … [Read more...] about Toto Wolff explains why Mercedes have ‘a lot to learn’ from Aston Martin

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack has explained why the difficulty Aston Martin had in Australia last year eventually turned into their “best moment” as a team. Aston Martin began the year struggling significantly with the AMR22, with the team not making the most of Formula 1’s regulation reset and languishing towards the back of the field in the early rounds of the season. Sebastian Vettel also missed the first two races through illness and returned to the cockpit in Melbourne, but a Q1 exit for him was combined with a collision between Lance Stroll and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, leaving both cars towards the back of the field. Fortunes did not improve much in the race either, with Vettel crashing out and Stroll only picking his way up to 12th place come the chequered flag. And Aston Martin team principal Krack admitted it was a tough part of the year for the team, but in a way it also helped galvanise them to make steps forward later on in the season. “It was a very … [Read more...] about Aston Martin on why Melbourne 2022 horror show was the ‘best moment’ for team

A respected Formula 1 observer has claimed that team owner Lawrence Stroll will not be enjoying watching Fernando Alonso upstage his son Lance and become the centre of attention at Aston Martin. Aston Martin’s strong start to the 2023 season continued at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Alonso finished third behind the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen having also finished P3 at the season opener in Bahrain. Alonso’s team-mate Lance recovered from a pre-season bike accident to finish sixth in the first race of 2023, but retired after just 16 laps in Jeddah with an engine issue – having made arguably the overtake of the race on the first lap around the outside of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. With team principal Mike Krack commenting in Saudi Arabia that Alonso has inspired the entire Aston Martin squad since succeeding Sebastian Vettel over the winter, former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor believes Stroll Sr will have mixed feelings about … [Read more...] about ‘Lawrence Stroll won’t like Fernando Alonso overshadowing his son at Aston Martin’

Fernando Alonso appears to have a real pep in his step at Aston Martin, and that positive “wave” is extending to his team. It is easy to understand why Alonso is loving life as an Aston Martin driver so much right now, with his switch to the Silverstone-based squad already looking like a masterstroke as Formula 1 returns to action in Saudi Arabia. It was at the Bahrain season-opener where Alonso proved that Aston Martin were indeed on form as testing had suggested, Alonso qualifying P5 before overtaking the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, plus Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on race day to claim a podium finish on his Aston Martin debut. The pass on Sainz in particular received a hyped-up response from Alonso over the radio, a race where from his radio messages alone, it was clear that Alonso was in his element at the wheel of that AMR23. And Alonso was still very much on a high come the opening day of on-track action at Round 2 of F1 2023, the Saudi Arabian Grand … [Read more...] about Energised Fernando Alonso ‘infecting all of us’ at Aston Martin

Aston Martin intend developing “the hell out of” the AMR23 with performance director Tom McCullough highlighting the rear wing as one area they need to improve to close the gap to Red Bull. But, he concedes, that’s not so easy with the sport operating under a budget cap. Aston Martin have been the surprise of the 2023 championship, the AMR23 the only car to join the Red Bulls on the podium with Fernando Alonso recording back-to-back P3 results. Second in the Constructors’ Championship, it has been a dream start to the season for the Silverstone team, but while they’re flying high, they’re also well aware of their deficit to Red Bull. While the AMR23 is good in the corners, Fernando Alonso has spoken of its straight-line deficit, one that led to him making a few passes in unusual places at the Bahrain Grand Prix as he didn’t have the speed to attack down the straights. That’s something Aston Martin intend working on, McCullough revealing they’ll be evaluating the wings after … [Read more...] about Aston Martin will ‘develop the hell out of’ AMR23 to close gap to Red Bull

Paul Stoddart was team boss of Minardi for Fernando Alonso’s maiden F1 season and, more than 20 years later, believes the Spaniard is as sharp as ever. Alonso made his debut with Paul Stoddart’s Minardi outfit in 2001, with the highly-rated Spaniard being given to the Faenza-based squad as a loaner from manager and Benetton/Renault team boss Flavio Briatore. Despite the difficulty of racing with an underpowered and uncooperative Minardi PS01, Alonso caught the eyes of the world by frequently achieving the maximum the car was capable of – including a (then point-less) 10th-place finish at the German Grand Prix. Appearing on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Stoddart revealed how impressed he had been by Alonso’s performances, pointing out the weekend at Suzuka as being particularly eye-catching to him. But, with Alonso merely being on loan, Stoddart knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold onto the prodigious talent behind the wheel of his car – he lost Alonso when Renault decided to … [Read more...] about Fernando Alonso’s first F1 boss has words of caution for Aston Martin

Former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor believes Mercedes will be confused after matching up well against the Aston Martin in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix having already decided to change their Formula 1 car concept. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff ordered sweeping changes to the car’s philosophy after a poor performance in the season opener in Bahrain, where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were outqualified and outraced by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. A fortnight later, Russell was in the hunt for a podium spot in Jeddah and was initially promoted to third place after Alonso received a post-race time penalty. The decision was later reversed, with Russell ultimately classified as finishing five seconds behind Alonso in the published results. Speaking via his YouTube channel , Windsor has identified a portion of the race where Alonso was aiming to extend his advantage over Russell to guard against the threat of a penalty. And he believes the fact that … [Read more...] about ‘Aston Martin comparison will confuse Mercedes after already ditching W14 concept’