What Is Happening With Aston Martin?
The new regulations introduced for this 2022 F1 season provided a lot of different troubles for different teams. However, a few teams have been hit harder than the others. The new regulations have heavily affected teams like Mercedes, McLaren, and especially Aston Martin.
Sebastian Vettel in his AMR22 during the Australian Grand Prix.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
When Lawrence Stroll bought into the team in 2020, before Racing Point rebranded to Aston Martin, the team had a great start by finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. However, things soon took a turn for the worse in 2021. A small tweak in the regulations dropped Aston Martin to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. This year’s results are even worse as the team is struggling to score points. After half a season, the team is just one spot from the bottom. Both drivers were only able to finish in point positions seven times with a combined 18 points. So what exactly is happening to Aston Martin?
Lance Stroll tackling the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit at Melbourne.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
First of all, the team ran into different issues while developing their car. At the start of the season, Aston Martin used a different side pod design than other Mercedes-powered teams. When Mercedes, McLaren, and Williams all opted for the narrow side pod design, Aston Martin chose to use a wide side pod design with a big undercut on their AMR22 car. Even with a different side pod design, Aston Martin could not avoid the porpoising issue many other teams were facing. Their speed was heavily affected by this newfound issue.
At the same time, Aston Martin used an open design to allow the team to develop the car freely as the season progressed. Team principal Mike Krack said this design concept would allow the team to make changes in the middle of the season without worrying about limitations from previous developments. This means that the team does not have a strong focus on developing a single aspect of the car, and the team will make changes as they please throughout the season.
Vettel with his AMR22 “B Spec” F1 car in Monaco.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
Regulation changes also hindered Aston Martin’s development off the factory floor. The new budget cap limits how much teams can spend each year. Therefore, although Stroll has plenty of money, Aston Martin cannot just throw money at their issues. If they blow their budget on developing the car at the start of the season, they risk running out of money before the season's end.
Lance Stroll during one of his two point finishes this season at the Canada Grand Prix.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
With plenty of obstacles in their way, Aston Martin’s start of the season was far from ideal. Their leading driver, Sebastian Vettel, contracted COVID-19 before the season started and was absent for the first two rounds, which was not good for car development. As a result, the team did not score their first points until the fourth round. The team knew they had much to do before catching up to the midfield, but they were optimistic. New upgrades for the car arrived at almost every race, but the pace did not improve.
A side by side of the Aston Martin AMR22 “B spec” car and Red Bull’s RB18. Notice how the side pods look almost identical with a slight dip on the side.
A big upgrade arrived at the Spanish Grand Prix in the form of new side pods. The new side pods looked almost identical to Red Bull’s RB18. However, the new and improved AMR22 “B spec” car results are underwhelming. Both drivers struggled to find grip, so the team continued to develop aero parts for the car to work with the new side pods. The big aero update arrived at the British Grand Prix, but again, the effects of the upgrade were insignificant. Vettel has struggled to escape Q1 for the past three qualifying sessions. Lance Stroll has not made Q2 in six qualifying sessions. Aston Martin’s outright pace is the second slowest among the ten teams. What is causing this issue despite all the work put into developing the car?
A top-down photo of Vettel in his upgraded AMR22 “B spec“ car at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
The biggest issue is that the drivers and the team don’t know what is causing the problems they have been encountering on track. For example, Vettel has complained about grip issues for the past three Grand Prix, but the team has no idea how to make changes to address the issue. Therefore, both drives have been struggling to put in competitive performances.
Both Aston Martins during the British Grand Prix.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
Besides finding out what has been holding the car back, Aston Martin also has to decide at what point they should give up on this season. The more time and resources they put into this season, the less time and resources they will have to prepare for next season. So the team has to decide when they need to give up on saving this season and prepare for a fresh start next season.
A rare sight of Aston Martin fighting front runners as Vettel battles Max Verstappen during the British Grand Prix.
Credit: Twitter @AstonMartinF1
This all will depend on how well they perform in these last two races before the summer break and how much progress they have made during the summer break. The French Grand Prix will be held this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if Aston Martin can find improvements on Circut Paul Ricard.
