Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows is confident that the Silverstone-based outfit can repeat its impressive winter development process from last year and take another significant step forward in performance in 2024.
After languishing in seventh place in the constructors' championship in 2022, Aston Martin underwent a transformative off-season, emerging as the second-fastest team in the first half of last year’s campaign.
Aston’s revitalised ground-effect AMR23 propelled Fernando Alonso to six podium finishes in the opening eight races – including runner-up spots in Monaco and in Canada.
Unfortunately, the team’s remarkable surge was followed by a lengthy period of stagnation over the summer as it was outdeveloped by its rivals, and especially McLaren which managed to overhaul its rival for fourth in F1’s Constructors’ standings in the final rounds of 2023.
With the unveiling of the team’s new AMR24 slated for February 12 at Silverstone and pre-season testing in Bahrain commencing just over a week later, anticipation is building to see if Aston Martin can once again surprise the F1 world with its innovative design and engineering prowess.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Fallows believes that Aston can deliver the goods once again.
“It's absolutely possible,” the British engineer told F1 reporter Ian Parkes.
“We've seen with what we did at the beginning of the season that there are still opportunities to make a big step forward.
“But it's a relative game. It depends on what other people are doing.
Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows
“For us, the most important thing is that we're making that big step forward. We have our internal targets. We have things that we want to achieve, and as long as we achieve that, then we'll be happy.
“Where that sits us on the grid will play out according to what our competitors do.”
While Aston’s development setback hindered the team’s progress in the latter part of the year, team principal Mike Krack admitted that F1’s increased level of competition has raised the stakes for Team Silverstone, making even minor developmental missteps more consequential.
While pushing the boundaries of car design is crucial for success, it is equally important to ensure that these innovations do not come at the expense of performance and reliability.
As Aston Martin prepares for the 2024 season, it must strike a careful balance between pushing the limits of car development and ensuring that its upgrades are well-tested and deliver the desired results.
The team's ability to navigate this challenge will be crucial in determining its position in the highly competitive F1 landscape.
“These days everybody has the same cars and is very strong in operations, so the differentiator is the performance,” commented Krack.
“You have to focus on the areas that make the performance, and this is where no team is stopping. You have to keep developing these departments, make them better, stronger, and more efficient.”
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