Fallows: Aston F1 team has made required step with AMR24

While several rivals have opted to make major concept changes Aston focussed on an evolution of the 2023 model, which earned eight podium finishes in the hands of Fernando Alonso despite a dip in form in the second half of the season.

The days of testing in Bahrain suggested that the team has made the progress it was seeking with the initial launch package, even if others set more eye-catching headline times.

“When we went into this season really looking for a step over the winter, we wanted to make sure we did get an improvement,” said Fallows. 

“Even though it's an evolution of last year's car, we wanted it to be a strong improvement as well as a strong evolution. And, we have seen that step, we've seen that benefit. So we’re very pleased about that.

“I think the most important thing for us is where we go from here. We weren't 100% pleased with what we achieved in our in-season development last year. And we wanted to make sure we can compete at the top level in terms of in-season as well.

“I think we were mostly keen on making sure we made a step on last year, which we have done. So I think we can certainly tick that box.”

Alonso made clear at the car’s launch that the key areas that needed to be addressed were straight-line speed and downforce in high-speed corners.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

"We had some things that we focused on over the winter in terms of making the car good to drive, making the balance good,” said Fallows when asked by Autosport about those targets. 

“And I think we're reasonably happy with where we are now. We know we've always got things to improve, which is why we go back into the wind tunnel and why we go back to the drawing board to do those things.

“But so far, I think we've achieved a lot in three days in the testing, done a lot of test items, and we're pretty pleased with the outcome."

Team principal Mike Krack agreed that the Bahrain sessions had gone to plan, with no setbacks.

“It was a very, very good test for us,” said Krack when asked for a summary. “Three days, I think the only interruptions we had was with the red flags. So I think we can be quite happy. The car was in a really good state when it arrived here, very reliable, high-quality parts.

“So we could do all of our work that we had scheduled to every day. Now, it's about digging, getting through the whole days to understand all the results that we have achieved, and we're looking forward to go to the first race."

Krack remains cautious about the team’s place in the pecking order.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“We need to look into the next days, get all the full analysis, and it will be over the next days that we get a clearer picture as well,” he said. 

“I think it was quite important for us that we look at ourselves, we have quite a big programme, and we cannot influence anyway what others are doing. And now it's about the analysis, and also trying to understand what others did.

"If you go through the full range of track conditions, fuel loads, engine modes, tyres, we had all the five tyre specs here, I think you can cover a range of five seconds. To then discern who's ahead by how much I think it's really, really tough."