Aston Martin has explained how its 2024 Formula 1 car marks a “strong evolution” from its predecessor while also ensuring that sizeable changes have also been adopted.
The Silverstone-based squad is aiming to improve upon an encouraging campaign last term that witnessed it accumulate 255 points more than it had managed in 2022.
But having been the closest threat to Red Bull’s dominance at the beginning of the season, Aston Martin’s competitiveness tailed off as it combated troubled upgrades.
However, Aston Martin was able to recover from its mid-season plight in the closing stages and Technical Director Dan Fallows has opened up on how it has built upon that.
“So, we’ve made changes all over the car. It’s very different in many ways,” Fallows told media including Motorsport Week.
“The majority of the parts have changed on it. But it is really still essentially a strong evolution of last year’s car. So, we have kind of built on the end of AMR23.
“The obvious things you’ll see that are different are things like the front nose and front wing. Bodywork will be different. There’s also obviously quite a lot of stuff under the hood, but we will obviously try and keep some of that under wraps.
“The front suspension layout, that’s a similar layout to what we had on the AMR23 – a system of push rod. We’ve inherited a new suspension from Mercedes, they obviously give us the gearbox and the structure of the rear suspension, so that has changed slightly from last year as well. So there’s a change on the rear, but the front is very similar.”
Fallows has admitted that a critical focus of its work for 2024 went into ensuring the team constructs a package that remains competitive across a range of circuit types.
“Even with the stable regulations, there are endless possibilities for refinement,” he assessed.
“I would call the AMR24 a strong evolution of last year’s car and it does look quite different with many new parts to give us a strong platform for development.
“The chassis design is new, as well as the nose, front wing, front suspension and rear suspension.
“We want to compete in the development race this season and this car is designed to do just that.
“Another area of focus has been to broaden the car’s operating window. We have focused on more versatility for a wider range of specific circuit characteristics.
“We want a race car that is more of an all-rounder. We believe the AMR24 provides the ideal platform for in-season development and a sustained season-long challenge.”
The 2022 overhaul of F1’s regulations heralded the return of ground effect with the shaped underside of the cars being used to generate up to 60% of the overall downforce.
Fallows has suggested that Aston Martin has paid particular attention to the floor of its machine as it’s one area that will prove pivotal to its prospects for this season.
“The floor is the biggest area of downforce generation on an F1 car and it’s constantly being evolved. Getting it right will be of paramount importance to our success in 2024,” he added.
Fernando Alonso stated at the end of last year that reducing excessive drag to improve straight-line speed was one weakness on the AMR23 that needed to be resolved for 2024.
Asked whether the British marque had been successful in delivering that, Fallows replied: “Fernando is, as with both of our drivers, quite vocal about what he wants to see on the car, how the car’s performing, and actually that’s the kind of feedback we really relish. That’s exactly what we want to know, is how they feel the car can go faster. I think that’s what the great drivers can really tell you is where the car is going to go faster.
“Certainly straight-line speed and making sure the car is as efficient as possible has been a big focus over the winter. I think that is something that we’ve managed to achieve on this year’s car and made a step on that.”
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