Why Aston is coming out with fighting talk for its F1 2024 chances against Red Bull

Formula 1 is soon going to hit some major anniversary moments. Next year, the championship, along with Autosport, is going to be celebrating 75 years of continuous history. In three months, it will be 30 years since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger on that awful weekend at Imola.

But, in just three weeks, it will be one year since Aston Martin shocked its rivals by making what star driver Fernando Alonso calls a “once in a lifetime” car performance gain. Then in 2023, the Silverstone-based squad that had just finished seventh in the 2022 constructors’ championship made a step worth over a second a lap in one off-season.

It resulted in Alonso’s first race alongside inevitable team stalwart Lance Stroll finishing with the Spaniard standing on the podium alongside the dominant Red Bull drivers (with a little help from poor Ferrari reliability for Charles Leclerc).

Aston ultimately slipped back in the pack in an almost exact mirror of McLaren’s rise to lead the chase behind Red Bull by 2023’s end, all around the massive Ferrari/Mercedes entanglement in the fight for what became the second and third places in the constructors’ places ahead of McLaren’s fourth and Aston’s fifth.

PLUS: How McLaren and Aston Martin enjoyed opposing fortunes in F1 2023

But now, the expectation is that the green team will make another massive step forward. Here are the five key elements surrounding Aston and that desire based on its 2024 season launch media events on Sunday afternoon.

Joining the two Red Bulls on the podium in Bahrain one year ago was a sign of how far Aston had come - and now it wants to take the next step

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Aston feels it has definitely made a step on the AMR23, but Alonso is reserving judgment

On Monday, it revealed its AMR24 challenger, which Aston technical director Dan Fallows calls “essentially a strong evolution of last year’s car”.

Fallows also adds that “we have kind of built on the end of AMR23”, in terms of the specification Aston was running by last year’s climax, plus the update path it committed to in the season run in. This was a series of set-up experiments, plus a new floor at the Mexican race.

Finally, Fallows also promises “quite a lot of stuff [different] under the hood, which hopefully you won’t see… we will obviously try and keep some of that under wraps”.

"We’re very pleased with the step that we’ve made over the winter, we think we have made a step on last year’s car, which is what we wanted" Dan Fallows

Given where Aston ended 2023, that isn’t exactly an inspiring starting tone for hopes of a second major winter gain in two years. Alonso even dashes that in the full version of his quote above: “What we did last year of gaining a second from one car to another was once in a lifetime, now I think you gain a few tenths from one year to the next, and I don’t know if those tenths are enough to close the gap that was already there last year.”

But Fallows nevertheless insists, “We’ve made changes all over the car – it’s very different in many ways, the majority of the parts have changed on it”.

PLUS: How Aston Martin has evolved its F1 concept for 2024

Red Bull’s former aero chief even states outright: “We’re very pleased with the step that we’ve made over the winter, we think we have made a step on last year’s car, which is what we wanted.”

Fallows says he's pleased with the progress made on the AMR24 over the winter

Photo by: Aston Martin

Aston’s attitude is: “Red Bull are beatable” even with all cars looking the same

Considering the AMR23 is critical to assessing where Aston stands entering the new campaign, plus understanding the messages the team was pushing in its launch press conferences last Sunday.

The main issue its previous car faced concerned how it lost competitiveness as the 2023 campaign wore on. It went from being Red Bull’s closest challenger through the year’s first third – and should’ve taken what Alonso calls a first triumph “in green” in the late Monaco rain – to its final result in large part because Aston’s in-season development couldn’t match those impressive off-season gains.

Then, it had benefitted from being the first team to join Red Bull’s downwash concept for the upper aerodynamic surfaces in this generation of ground-effect rules, and how this interlinks with the critical floor designs. But before 2023’s first half was out, all the other front-running teams had this too.

Now that all the cars look the same – barring any shocks in the sole remaining launch – Fallows claims the gains all the teams are seeking come down to nailing “things that are really smaller details”. He adds of the likelihood F1 faces a full year of homogenous designs that “with the regulations that we have now, it is not particularly easy to have cars that are visually very different”.

But on where the gains can still be found – particularly concerning floor design updates – Fallows reckons “there’s still a lot of lap time to come”. As a result, the combination of his next statement and the mindset insight it implies is bullish: “We take the approach that Red Bull are absolutely beatable. That’s what we’re chasing after – we’re focusing on them. And that’s what we’re aiming for.”

“That he says that – puts a smile on my face”, Alonso replies when Autosport asks if he shares Fallows’ optimism. “I didn't speak with Dan for few weeks now. But yeah, we have to be optimistic at this part of the season.

“We saw last year as well, Ferrari finished really strong and achieved a few pole positions in the last part of the year. McLaren also made a huge step during the season and got close to Red Bull in a few races. So, let's see what happens.

“We have to be regularly in the points first, fighting for podiums, or be a contender for podiums, as we did last year. And then if we are in that position, it will be lovely to achieve the first victory in green, for Aston Martin, and hopefully, I can be behind the wheel that moment.”

Fallows firmly believes that Red Bull can be beaten as the field coalesces around a similar design philosophy

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Alonso was actually more downbeat when he addressed reporters from Spanish media shortly after his press call in English, saying “with an open mind, I don't think we have closed that gap [to Red Bull]”.

A few things stand out here. One is that Alonso has now gone through the pre-season pecking order statements game 21 times in his recording-breaking career span. And he spoke with a weary tone that reflected how all he really wants to do at this time of year is drive the wheels off the AMR24 in pursuit of that first Aston victory and his 33rd overall.

He also revealed that while he’d sampled the new car in Aston’s simulator, he felt until he'd completed this week’s Silverstone shakedown running and the upcoming pre-season test, it’s too early “to really spot the differences between the cars, last year and this year”.

"We have not left any stone unturned – we have really tried to look at every area" Mike Krack

“But it should be a good step forward,” he continues. “Some of the weaknesses that we saw last year, some of the inconsistencies that we had last year from track to track – that we were more or less competitive – we tried to tackle all those. So, yeah, I'm reasonably happy with what the intent of all those changes is. Let's see on track.”

The sense of omniscience that comes with being an F1 driver set to hit 400 races at this year’s Qatar event shines through. But so too should the feeling that he’s no longer hyping up Aston to the extent he did during those early honeymoon rounds nearly a year ago.

But, overall, the tone from Aston’s upper management was notably more uplifting.

“We have tried to focus on all areas of our [car] predecessor – the AMR23, which had a great season, full of positives, last year,” says Aston team principal Mike Krack, speaking alongside Fallows, their front-and-centre microphone placings creating an image of yet another podcast series about to take off. “But then we have not left any stone unturned – we have really tried to look at every area.”

Krack also says in addition to the obvious attention paid to the AMR24’s development, this has meant Aston assessing “operations” and “reliability” to “make a step forward in all directions”. On the reliability point, with Aston losing three finishes in 2023 to mechanical maladies, this is also what Stroll is getting at when he comments “we had a lot of misfortune last year”.

Aston has sought to address reliability issues that cost Stroll a shot of points in Jeddah last year

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Aston has set out to avoid its 2023 in-season development mistakes from the off

Avoiding the mid-season development mistakes the team introduced with its floor and sidepod changes introduced at the Montreal round – with part of the blame going on its aero simulation tools pointing to changes that actually hurt in-corner balance – is of course key for Aston’s 2024 chances.

It will also hope to avoid having to make tweaks in a technical rules probe, as insiders admitted it did when the FIA was looking into flexi wings after 2023’s early rounds. Again, there is no suggestion anything Aston may or may not have been doing was illegal.

Fallows outlines how Aston has tried to make its in-season upgrade development path bulletproof for the coming year. In doing so, he also reveals why the team is viewing its new challenger as an evolution from its last.

“In truth, it’s a short off-season and we were developing things that were relevant for this year quite late on into last season,” he explains. “So, the main aim for us is really to make sure that this car is a good platform to put those developments on during the season.

“We’ve seen – particularly last season, but also the season before – the in-season development race is absolutely fierce and we want to be as competitive in that as we have been going into the new season. So, that’s what we’ve been really focused on – to make sure that we’ve got a good, stable basis for us to go and develop the car and keep those updates coming and keep the performance coming.”

Aston has addressed Alonso’s key request for better straightline speed

The other standout points that Aston and Alonso closed 2023 discussing also came up in the context of how these have become new reality in the AMR24.

Alonso had specifically targeted an improvement in straightline speed, which Fallows says has been “a big focus over the winter and I think that is something that we've managed to achieve on this year's car, to make a step on that”.

Fallows is confident that the new car will appease Alonso's request for improved straightline speed

Photo by: Aston Martin

Meanwhile, the Aston press release revealing the AMR24 contained the following description, how “the continuous refinement of the AMR24 has resulted in a lighter, more aerodynamically efficient race car, designed to operate across a wider range of circuits”.

Fallows, in response to a question seeking clarity on whether his “Red Bull are absolutely beatable” comment meant sniped race wins or a full title tilt, actually reveals more on this point.

“Rather than thinking about individual races, from an engineering point of view, we have to make a car that's capable of operating at any circuit and being competitive,” he continues. “And that's really what we're focused on – making a car that's usable, that's good for the drivers.”

It would be logical to expect Alonso to have an interest in what happens at Mercedes for 2025. Adding the third title he believes should’ve been his so long ago, after all, remains his primary concern

Given how good Red Bull’s RB19 was in both the straightline speed stakes and its virtuosity across all of F1’s differing track types, these comments should be a boost to Alonso. He also claims where Aston was “a bit weak last year, in fast cornering”, that “this year looks like we will be more competitive”.

“We have to keep the strengths that we had in 2023,” Alonso continues. “Which was traction, tyre care, and there were things that maybe we lost [in the mid-season updates]. But the work is done, and until we compare it with the others we won't know if it will be good enough.”

Signing Alonso to a 2025 contract – if he wants one – is harder for Aston now Mercedes has Hamilton’s seat sitting open

Ultimately, while how the AMR24 stacks up against the rest is Aston’s primary 2024 challenge, this will have a direct impact into a new one that has suddenly arisen in the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari for 2025.

Right now, there is a plum seat available at a team that has only had one non-winning season since 2011 and possesses a proven track record of recent championship success. In all its iterations since starting out as Jordan, Aston has never had such accolades and achievements.

Aston will need the AMR24 to be a step forward to ensure Alonso isn't tempted by the vacant seat at Mercedes

Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images

Alonso’s part in the 2007 Spygate scandal that is still recalled at the top echelons of Mercedes’ OEM management that at the time had the works engine supply deal with McLaren might mean a call from Toto Wolff never comes. And he also might never want to be a successor for his great F1 career rival.

But it would be logical to expect Alonso to have an interest in what happens at Mercedes for 2025. Adding the third title he believes should’ve been his so long ago, after all, remains his primary concern.

And so, the question now posed to Krack, team owner Lawrence Stroll and co at Aston came up again and again for Alonso. In total, he was asked eight questions (from a total of 21 in English and Spanish) relating to his driving future beyond this season.

Aston’s position came via Krack stating: “We love Fernando. We have a very good relationship with Fernando. He’s an integral member of the team. We have a relationship that is based on trust and openness. And we would be delighted, honestly, to continue with Fernando into 2025 and the years after.

“The silly season is in full swing [early]. But we are quite confident that we can achieve what we want, which is continue with both drivers in 2025 and the future.”

Alonso has clearly prepared his answers – the canny operator in F1’s political sphere come to pass judgement and create headlines once again.

First, he outlines how “the numbers that [I] achieved in all the physical tests that we do every season, they were the best ever this year”, in the context that primarily his career will last as long as he feels he can keep producing his breath-taking best. Plus, then deciding whenever he wants to discover “other things in life that I'm curious [about]” and that he’s sacrificed knowing these so far because “F1 needs total dedication”.

Krack is clear that he wants to keep Alonso at the team beyond this year

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The 42-year-old clearly relishes in stating “if you are motivated, and if you want to commit, you can drive maybe until 48 or 49, or whatever, or even 50”. The subtext here is that his final F1 years will be determined on his terms alone.

But of all that Mercedes interest, he says: “I'm preparing for… the eventuality that I want to keep racing. And if I want to keep racing, let's see what the options are. My first priority will be always to sit down and discuss with Aston. I want to explore every possibility to race for many years here.

“If we cannot reach an agreement, and I want to commit to race in F1, I know that I have a privileged position. I'm probably attractive to other teams – the performance that they saw last year, the commitment. There are only three world champions on the grid. And there is only one available.”

That’s quite an advertisement, one all the other F1 racers bar Hamilton and Max Verstappen cannot make right now. It shows Alonso’s worth to Aston, but, critically to its rivals too. That then, sets up how one of 2023’s biggest stories is surely set to do battle on rather differing fronts in 2024…

There's plenty at stake for Aston this year, both on and off the track

Photo by: Aston Martin Racing