Aston Martin believe their flawed launch 2022-spec of Formula 1 car has helped them to follow the "right path" for the 2023 design. When the new ground-effect AMR22 was launched in February, it featured bulky sidepods but proved to be off the pace in the early races and was reportedly tricky to drive. The team realised that it needed to rectify the problems with the car, and brought a heavily revised package to May's Spanish Grand Prix - one that drew a lot of attention for its visual similarities to the Red Bull RB18. Performances failed to improve throughout the mid-season, with the team rooted in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, before a recent upturn has vaulted them to seventh, a few points behind Alfa Romeo. Performance Director Tom McCullough believes the Barcelona concept change will steer the team in the right direction for 2023.
McCullough on 2023 plans
One of the weaknesses of the 2022 Aston has been its performance on high-speed tracks, with the best results coming on street circuits or in wet weather races. However, the overall performance of the team improved at the United States Grand Prix, with both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll running in the top 10 at various stages of the weekend. "The performance potential of our launch car was big, but we went down a different route because we couldn't get it to work as well as we wanted," McCullough explained. "The scale of the concept change should not be underestimated. "We completely changed the cooling layout, floor, sidepods, engine cover, brake ducts, fins around the halo, mirrors – everything changed. "Since we introduced it at the Spanish Grand Prix, we've steadily improved. Race by race we've brought small upgrades to the car and developed the package. "When we introduced the new concept, we were lacking in terms of high-speed performance, but we've gradually made gains in this area, and we really saw that in the United States GP. "For 2023, we've got to put all our ideas and learnings from this year together to deliver a significantly better car. "It's all relative though, as every other team will be doing the same. "We think the path we're now on is the right one, and we'll be able to iterate our 2023 car to consistently deliver more performance rather than having to change concept mid-season." Vettel is retiring at the end of the 2022 season, with old rival Fernando Alonso being drafted into the Silverstone-based squad to partner Stroll for 2023.
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