The Aston Martin AMR22 will contest the next Miami GP with the current aerodynamic configuration, but from Spain, if the forecasts are confirmed, we will see a remarkably different single-seater than the one seen until now.
The Silverstone team took its first points of the season at Imola, leaving Williams behind, who now sit bottom of the constructors’ standings, but Lawrence Stroll ‘s expectations were very different.
The technical structure, led by Andy Green , has been greatly strengthened in recent months compared to the historic group of engineers that the team had when it was still Force India.
The evolution of the AMR22 has been entrusted to Newelle Vague , who together with the technical director, Dan Fallows , and the engineering director, Luca Furbatto , have started working to review a project that has not given great results to date.
Lawrence Stroll ‘s enthusiasm seems to be fading little by little, since the Aston Martin operation is not giving him great results either in Formula 1 or in the production world, after a financially stratospheric investment.
Tom McCullough , performance director of the British team, revealed a few weeks ago that the team was already working with a very different model to the current AMR22 in the wind tunnel.
However, it has been now that confirmation has arrived that at Silverstone they would have given up the initial double-bottom concept to move on to more inclined bellies, with aerodynamics aimed at reducing aerodynamic drag and improving efficiency in search of an increase in top speeds, also contributing to weight reduction.
Taking all this into account, one of the big doubts is whether we will see any change also in the position of the radiators, which right now are very high and almost horizontal.
The Aston Martin uses the rear end of the Mercedes W13 (power unit, gearbox and suspension) which has shown serious design limitations. The mistakes made at Brackley also have repercussions for the customer teams ( Williams and Aston Martin ), while McLaren, which seems to suffer less, only has the Mercedes power unit.
The evolution of the AMR22 for the Spanish GP, therefore, will be a turning point for a season and a relaunch plan that has not been successful so far. Its drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, are looking forward to the day they test this kind of AMR22 “B”, hoping that the dynamics will change at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Otherwise, the pain will continue and the 2022 F1 season could be very long for Aston Martin .
