Aston Martin dismiss theory around Canada upgrade

Aston Martin has dismissed the idea that its Canada floor upgrade set the team back after its fortunes suffered after the package was introduced.

In Montreal, a sizeable upgrade was added to the AMR23, with Fernando Alonso finishing second, but on-track running was limited due to Free Practice 1 being abandoned due to CCTV and safety issues, with the team slipping down in the pecking order over the summer.

A second package was added in the Netherlands, with Alonso once again finishing second, but the team could not regain its early season form where the two-time champion scored six podiums in the first eight races.

After the strong start, Aston slipped to fifth in the final standings, but Performance Director Tom McCullough has softened the impact the upgrade had.

Aston back upgrades

"The actual car lives in a very different world to the wind-tunnel and CFD," McCullough explained to media including RacingNews365.

"We went down some development routes and we're always trying to make the car go quicker, you're always trading plus and minuses as you're bringing packages knowing what we know.

"A few of the small decisions we made, now, we'd probably make them differently, but I also think a lot of this grew and was a much bigger story than the reality.

"When we sit back and look at what actually happened, and talk to the senior aerodynamicists, they're a bit surprised by the story, because I think it ended up being a much bigger story than the reality.

"We now have the knowledge of all the components, and we've always had a good understanding of different tracks and the requirements for them.

"We're in a good place now that we can go to any track and know what parts to put together to be the best at that track.

"Ultimately, we want to build a car that allows you to not need to change the configuration of the car as much to be strong.

"The knowledge that we've gained from the testing that we've done is the main driving force behind how we're developing next year's car."