Why Aston Martin’s surge has left its F1 rivals feeling conflicted

As F1 fans were left awestruck by the remarkable story of Fernando Alonso’s podium charge in his first race for Aston Martin, there was a sense of both shock and awe from competitors about just what it had unleashed with its AMR23. From being the seventh best team in F1 last year, Aston Martin has made the kind of leap forward that happens once in a generation. This is Brawn GP levels of progress.

On the positive side, it has proved to be an inspiration for some in the pitlane. Chiefly, it has put to bed fears that emerged last year that, even under F1’s cost cap regime, there was little hope for any squad outside the big three to be fighting regularly for podiums.

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McLaren was the only non-Mercedes/Ferrari/Red Bull team to snatch a podium last year, and seeing one of F1’s minnows take on – and overtake – established manufacturers shows just what can be done when all the stars align in F1. Even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who endured a painful weekend in Bahrain, couldn't help but take note of what his competitor had done.

“What Aston Martin was able to achieve is a good inspiration, because they came back from two seconds off the pace to being the second quickest team,” he said.

But while there was a sense of being impressed by the job Aston Martin has done, it has also delivered some reality checks for teams up and down the grid. At Mercedes, Aston Martin using its engine, gearbox and rear suspension, plus sharing its wind tunnel, means there really is no excuse for its W14 not to be performing as well. Elsewhere, what Aston Martin has achieved in just a few months over the winter has given some food for thought about what is needed to be successful in F1.

After endless occasions where teams went to their board or parent car manufacturer and talked about slow and steady progress towards the front, and five year plans to even go for podiums, Aston Martin has proved to be a bit of a disruptor. Especially, as Alonso himself quite rightly pointed out in Bahrain on Sunday night, since in the new cost cap era every other squad on the grid has had the same opportunity to do what Aston Martin has done.

As Alonso pointed out, every team under the new cost cap rules has had the same opportunity to make the same leap forward as Aston Martin

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“I think you need to have the vision and the ambition of Lawrence Stroll, or our leadership and our management because the opportunities are there for everybody,” he said.

In the hunt for answers, rival team bosses canvassed over the weekend suggested there were some clear factors that come to the fore when it comes to explaining how Aston Martin has done it.

First of all there is investment; both in making sure the equipment at its factory is as state-of-the-art as possible; but also in bringing on board the right staff. The hiring of high-calibre figures like technical director Dan Fallows from Red Bull, deputy technical director Eric Blandin from Mercedes and former McLaren, Toro Rosso, Manor and Sauber man Luca Furbatto have been critical in delivering the knowledge of what is needed to be successful at the front of the grid.

Aston Martin has proven that the right infrastructure is critical too. McLaren’s acceptance that it cannot hope to fight at the front until its new simulator and wind tunnel are on top is proof that you need the right tools in place at a factory. 

While others have ploughed their own furrow – like Ferrari with its in-wash solution and Mercedes with its zero-pod idea – the evidence appears to be mounting that the best design for the 2022 rules era cars is what Red Bull has done

And while Aston Martin’s own new facilities are not up and running just yet, it has been using the Mercedes tunnel – which rivals know is no handicap. Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer said: “The Mercedes wind tunnel is a very good one. I don't think you're penalised by sharing. If you were penalised by sharing, people wouldn't share.”

The importance also of having a superstar driver like Alonso on board cannot be underestimated either. It was quite telling that Williams team boss James Vowles made immediate reference to this element when he was asked for his views on what has triggered Aston Martin’s progress. “I think they have an extraordinary driver who's in the car,” he said.

What someone like Alonso brings is not just the two or three tenths gain with his talent out on track; it’s also the motivation and focus that he delivers to every staff member in the garage and factory that can help extract even more performance.

But there is also another intriguing aspect to how Aston Martin has made such rapid progress up the order; and it comes down to mindset. Alonso said on Sunday: “It seems that only one team is willing to do whatever it takes to win.” While the exact focus of what Alonso was referring is not known, what has become clear is that Aston Martin’s aggressive pursuit of the Red Bull car concept has paid off handsomely.

Aston Martin "flattered" Red Bull with its copying of its car concept helping the Silverstone squad to the Bahrain podium

Photo by: Erik Junius

Sergio Perez and Christian Horner both made quips on Sunday night about there being three Red Bulls on the podium, but it’s unfair to suggest that Fallows and his team have simply benefitted from a copy and paste job. What they are guilty of though, and this goes back to something Fallows said at the launch, is of having the strength to swallow their pride and commit fully to a concept that another team has pioneered.

While others have ploughed their own furrow – like Ferrari with its in-wash solution and Mercedes with its zero-pod idea – the evidence appears to be mounting that the best design for the 2022 rules era cars is what Red Bull has done. The downwash solution appears to make best use of airflow over and under the sidepods to better feed the critical floor area and duly deliver maximum downforce.

All too often we hear teams say that they don’t believe they will be able to win in F1 if they copy the opposition. However, there comes a point where, if your rivals have adopted by far the best solution, then not following suit is insanity. Speaking when the AMR23 was revealed, Fallows talked about one of Adrian Newey’s greatest strengths being that he was not technically arrogant in cutting himself off to others having come up with better ideas.

“If somebody does suggest something better, be open-minded, irrespective of who they are,” he said. “I think that’s one of his [Newey’s] great strengths, and hopefully I’ve sort of carried that on.”

Being willing to do whatever it takes to win means that sometimes you must put the white flag up and concede your idea is wrong and somebody else has done it better. That’s exactly what Aston Martin did last year when it abandoned its launch concept; and it’s just taken things on another level this year.

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It’s this aspect that will perhaps deliver the biggest debate among rival teams who have found themselves falling behind Aston Martin this year. Do they know need to fall in line behind it?

In the end it’s quite simple: the team that once won a race with a Pink Mercedes, has done such a job with its Green Red Bull, that the former Silver Arrows squad which supplies it with engines now has to consider its own Black Red Bull…

Has Aston left Mercedes with no choice but to follow the Red Bull path?

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images