Szafnauer: P3 target for Aston Martin now 'a step too far'

Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer says his team aims to salvage a spot among F1's top five as third in the Constructors' standings now appears to be out of reach.

Team Silverstone's rebranding and the hiring of four-time world champion instilled a fresh dose of energy into Lawrence Stroll's outfit.

But the team's results since the start of the season – with just five points scored in four races - have fallen short of expectations, leading Szafnauer to revise Aston's ambitions for 2021.

F1's aero rule changes for this year's campaign have weighed on the performance of the team's low-rake concept AMR21 design. But Szafnauer still hopes that Aston can secure a spot among F1"s top five by the end of the season.

"Unfortunately, I think P3 is probably a step too far," he said. "We will fight hard in the midfield to see how high we can go. But yeah, we’d like to be in the top half by the end of the year."

Despite Aston Martin's ambitions to evolve into a winning outfit and a championship contender, the team's current shortfall hasn't added additional pressure from its owners according to Szafnauer.

"None of us are happy with the situation we're in," said the American.

"We’ve got to be realistic as to what we can do with a frozen car, a frozen rake and regulations that are significantly changing for 2022.

"So, we just have to be realistic to understand the situation we're in, and do the best we can with the car and the tools that we have.

"For sure there's always pressure when you're not achieving where you thought you were going to achieve. But like I said, we all have to be realistic and do what we can, without compromising the 2022 programme."

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