Aston Martin explain 'game changer' advantage after Mercedes split

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack feels the fact the F1 team can finally start to use its own wind tunnel will be "a game changer" in its bid to become F1 champions in 2026.

The construction of the first new wind tunnel to be built in 20 years for F1 testing purposes was completed in the second half of last year. It was then passed onto Aston Martin to begin the commissioning phase, which has now been completed.

It means for the first time since the Silverstone-based marque was once known as Force India almost two decades ago, it is using its own development facility, rather than relying on the Mercedes wind tunnel at Brackley, nine miles away.

Speaking to RacingNews365 about the new wind tunnel, which forms one-third of the Aston Martin campus and also includes a new state-of-the-art factory and simulator, Krack said: "That is certainly the game changer in the whole thing for us."

Outlining the advantages, Krack added: "Having our own wind tunnel presents its challenges, obviously, because we were operating in a very good wind tunnel. We must not forget that the factory team was using the same wind tunnel.

"But you can make your own choices about how you want to develop, not only the car, but also the tunnel, how you want to develop your routines, your hardware.

"The timing, especially, is the critical part because you can just spread the time you have available over a longer period of absolute time, let's say, which will allow you to say stop after a strange result, or a result you did not expect.

"There may be an issue with correlation, and you may do a CFD run in between, or make different parts for the model and be more efficient overall with your location. That is certainly a big aspect.

"And then, obviously, the geographical part, being on the same campus, when you do not have to leave the site that is certainly a big, big, big change."

Although the Mercedes wind tunnel at Brackley was only a short distance, the time savings will still be considerable, according to Krack.

"It's hard to estimate, but it means we do not have to head over to Brackley any more," smiled Krack.

"We can convene a quick meeting and discuss things around the model, and maybe with more people than we would have done.

"I think there are maybe other opportunities yet to present themselves that we do not have on the horizon."