Fernando Alonso is clear that straight-line speed and the overall operating window are the two areas he wants to see most improved on Aston Martin’s 2024 Formula 1 car.
Aston Martin’s decision to develop the downwash sidepod solution it introduced midway through last year saw Alonso score six podiums across the opening eight races.
However, the Silverstone-based squad would slip to fifth in the Constructors’ standings after unintended “side effects” from upgrades derailed its nascent momentum.
The team’s AMR23 car particularly struggled in comparison to its rivals at high-speed circuits like Monza where Aston Martin paid the price for upholding excessive drag levels.
Therefore, Alonso asserts that Aston Martin must address its top-end speed deficit and widen the operating window of its 2024 challenger to ensure it improves next year.
“I think we need to find some consistency,” Alonso assessed. “Maybe one of the weak points was that the car has to operate in a very narrow window.
“It’s the same for everybody [in these regulations], but it seems we struggle a little bit, and it would be nice if we could always perform at a stable level next year.
“And also if we can improve the straight line speed. I think in performance numbers that’s our weak point, always a little bit too slow in the straights.
“If we want to be as fast as the others we have to drop too much the rear wing and then we ended up slow in the corners as well.”
In a bid to reverse its mid-season slump, Aston Martin unveiled a multitude of new parts in Austin that forced the team to run experiments across several race weekends.
Despite that process initially extending the British marque’s troubles, Alonso believes it proved beneficial in helping the side define its development direction for the 2024 car.
When asked if the narrow operating range could be attributed to Aston Martin’s wayward development pattern, Alonso replied: “I think [it was] a consequence a little bit of the development of the car.
“But as I said, it’s the same for everybody. When you try to extract that little bit extra on the performance of the car, you need to sacrifice some areas to gain in some others, so you start narrowing the window.
“But I think we have some ideas for next year and everything should be better.”
But the Spaniard insisted there were still positive aspects to translate from the AMR23, most notably its tyre management and the team’s execution of race weekends.
“The strength was tyre degradation,” the two-time champion added. “I think Sundays the car is very strong always, execution of the strategy, motivation of the team.
“We are a happy team, we are a young team, and we are celebrating every result as a win; this energy is important to keep for next year.”
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