Aston Martin has explained how the delicate nature of the Pirelli tyres during the Miami Grand Prix weekend prompted the team to abandon its new rear-wing design.
The Silverstone-based squad introduced a revised rear wing that was intended to be a low-drag configuration that would bolster its competitiveness in a straight line.
But despite running the updated specification from the sole practice session, Aston Martin reverted to its previous rear wing choice for the remainder of the weekend.
Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack has disclosed that the increase in sliding when using a lower-downforce car concept on the AMR24 was behind the decision.
“It was more a decision that you make based on tyre behaviour. If you have a lot of sliding, you really weigh up downforce against top speed,” Krack explained.
“This is a permanent discussion in the office about whether to go up, or to go down. The drivers have their opinions because they have to try and pass – so we made that choice.
“If we started again, maybe the choice would be different. But the wing choice in the end was not the decisive factor.”
Aston Martin endured a challenging weekend at the Miami International Autodrome as both cars failed to progress to Q3, with Fernando Alonso a distant 15th place.
However, the Spaniard would battle hard to score two points with a ninth-place finish in the race, surviving a close scrap with former Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Alonso, who had predicted that Miami would be a damage limitation weekend prior to the track action, conceded that Aston Martin got fortunate with the Safety Car.
“We were lucky with the Safety Car today, that really helped our race,” he reflected.
“Starting on the Hard, we were thinking to stop a little bit later, but the Safety Car came in that lap and we took the opportunity.
“We were with the Mediums, the others were with the Hards, so we had a little advantage there.
“All in all, we were lucky with the strategy and with the Safety Car. A little bit better on the race compared to quali, but we still need to improve and find more pace.”
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