Following a difficult start to the 2022 season, in which they sank to last place in the constructors’ championship after just three races, Aston Martin made a number of visible design changes to its AMR22 car for the Spanish Grand Prix. of last month.
Similarities could be seen between Red Bull’s RB18 car and the new Aston Martin, which was dubbed a “Green Red Bull”, but the FIA declared the new car legal, pleased with the team and car design independently and through legal processes.
Since the update was released, Aston Martin’s form has picked up momentum, with Sebastian Vettel in the lead, reaching Q3 in Monaco and Baku before scoring points in both races. The German finished sixth at the Azerbaijan GP, which became the team’s best result of the season and brought him level with Haas in the team standings.
Aston Martin director of performance, Tom McCullough , felt that the team had learned a lot about the update since it debuted, using it on three different types of track, showing that the car was now “a little more workable”.
“We can use it in wider operating windows, and that means we can focus on optimizing the car in a more traditional way on a race weekend, getting the most out of the tyres, understanding grip, limited content vs. seemingly limited content, getting the setup right on the car,” McCullough said.
“So it’s a lot more fun, a lot easier. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
Aston Martin opted to develop what would ultimately become the upgrade for the Spanish GP, alongside its initial launch specification, as early as August last year.
The midfield order has varied quite a bit over the first part of the season under the new regulations, but McCullough was encouraged by the developments Aston Martin had planned and their potential to enter the fray.
“The potential is always going to be there for everybody, up and down the grid right now,” McCullough said.
“These are very new regulations. We started the year [in a] certain direction, we have changed slightly, but all the news that has come to the track and is coming to the track, it is encouraging for the future.
“But no one is going to sit still, so we’re going to try to push as hard as we can and be as competitive as we can.”
Vettel’s comeback to sixth in Baku was Aston Martin’s best result since team-mate Lance Stroll finished sixth in Qatar last November.
The four-time world champion felt that the team is “extracting a little more each time” with the new package, which helps him take steps forward.
“We have learned a lot from Barcelona,” said Vettel.
“We didn’t have any new elements for [Baku], but we were able to extract a bit more [from the car], understand, try a lot of things and take risks in the sessions where it could go wrong.
“From an engineering point of view, we are doing very well, extracting what is in the car.
