Fernando Alonso has pinned some of the issues Aston Martin encountered in the 2024 Formula 1 campaign down to its limited use of the Mercedes wind tunnel.
Aston Martin enjoys a close technical link with Mercedes, situated a few short miles from its Silverstone base in nearby Brackley.
That includes an engine and gearbox supply, as well as lending Aston Martin use of the Mercedes wind tunnel.
From six podiums in the first eight races of 2023, Aston Martin and Alonso failed to reach the top three this year and continued down a path of development hell as performances dwindled as the campaign wore on.
After the team finished fifth in the Constructors’ standings with 94 points, 186 less than last year, Alonso portioned some of the blame on the limited wind tunnel usage Aston Martin has – a natural occurrence when having to borrow another team’s facility.
“It’s not an easy solution or an easy answer, because if not, probably we will do it a little bit easier than what we have found,” Alonso told the Chequered Flag podcast when discussing Aston’s troubles.
“I think a problem of understanding a little bit the insides of the car, some of the wind tunnel problems that I think also Mercedes faced last year, in terms of developing the car.
“Our wind tunnel usage is a little bit limited by using the Mercedes tunnel.”
How Aston Martin will overcome wind tunnel issue in 2025
Luckily for Aston Martin and Alonso, the team has built a brand new facility on its existing Silverstone site, featuring state-of-the-art technology.
This includes a brand new wind tunnel that will come online in the New Year.
While this won’t have an impact on the initial creation of the AMR25, which has been in development for some time, having a bespoke wind tunnel all to itself should bolster Aston Martin’s ability to develop throughout the 2025 season.
Moreover, the 2026 Aston Martin machine will be developed from the get-go in the new wind tunnel, with Managing Technical Partner Adrian Newey and Chief Technical Officer Enrico Cardile to lead its creation.
Speaking in an Aston Martin Q&A on Youtube, Team Principal Mike Krack boasted how Newey’s involvement means “nothing can go wrong” in 2026.
“We will have Yoda soon helping us and his force, so nothing can go wrong for 2026,” he said.
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