Aston Martin’s “clever innovations” in F1 rule loopholes - Alonso’s big chance?
Hopes for 2023 are high at the Silverstone-based outfit after they were boosted by the arrival of Fernando Alonso, with the two-time world champion replacing fellow multiple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has retired.
Aston Martin are aiming for a marked improvement following two underwhelming seasons and a disappointing seventh-place finish in the 2022 F1 constructors’ championship.
Although there are no major rule changes for the upcoming campaign - unlike the regulation overhaul in 2022 - Aston Martin’s deputy technical director Eric Blandin has suggested there are loopholes teams can take advantage of.
“We've implemented a few clever innovations on the new car – they're the icing on the cake,” Blandin said in an interview on the official Aston Martin website.
“They’re a nice-to-have, but not a must-have.
“It's great when you find a small loophole and can use it to your advantage, but it's not often you can base an entire car around it. Instead, it's essential to get the basics right, and then you can add things.
“When you start a new car project, you identify what your limitations were the previous year – and how you can overcome them with the new design – and you define the architecture that will give you the most potential for the future.
"If you pursue the wrong concept, you can end up boxing yourself in – you run out of road for development – and that's a very difficult situation to get out of.”
Aston Martin change ‘90 percent of parts’ on 2023 car
Amid their quest to move up the F1 grid, Aston Martin have made extensive changes to their 2023 car.
"We took all our learnings from last year's car and applied them to this year's car,” Blandin explained.
"So much of the AMR23 is new, it's completely different from the AMR22. We've changed more than 90 per cent of the parts and more than 95 per cent of the aerodynamic surfaces are different.”
And Blandin confirmed Aston Martin will unveil their actual 2023 car at their launch on February 13.
"We will unveil the actual car, just as we did last year," he added.
"The car we reveal at our new factory in Silverstone on 13 February will be the real AMR23. We're not going to disappoint fans."
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