F1 | Aston Martin: changing aero philosophy takes time

Aston Martin convinced Fernando Alonso to stay, but the prospect is not so much that Honda will arrive in 2026 to start a winning project, given that Lawrence Stroll's ambitions push him to seek his first success after the repeated podiums last year.

The operation seems somewhat complicated because the distance of the AMR24 from Red Bull is still important, but the Silverstone team is convinced that they have launched a good development plan, very different from 2023, when it was based on a few very substantial packages. The idea is to grow little by little in the awareness of having a good machine as a starting point.

The first significant innovation was seen in Canada, with solutions that had led the team astray, losing that sensational second-third place in the Constructors' championship built in the first races, while in this championship we have seen the arrival of a significant update already in Suzuka , on the occasion of the fourth race.

Dan Fallows and Luca Furbatto worked hard to find the balance of the “verdona”: a car with better performance in the flying lap than in the race stints. Aston Martin is currently fifth in the constructors' championship, just one point behind Mercedes. Alonso has always been profitable by bringing the AMR24 into the top ten, while Lance Stroll alternates performances close to the Spaniard, with races without a useful result (in Saudi Arabia he retired after an accident).

In Japan the Silverstone team brought significant innovations which were entrusted to Lance Stroll because there was only one package available, waiting for the second one for Alonso to arrive in Suzuka. The Canadian didn't immediately find a good feeling with the changes and the fact that in the second free practice session the drizzle prevented him from working to find a good set-up didn't work in his favour.

Aston Martin AMR24: here is the slimmed belly and the new Suzuka bottom

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

Fernando immediately adapted better to Saturday, even if he didn't promote the entire package which evidently needs more set-up work to extract its full potential. Stroll, however, for qualifying and the race chose to return to a more loaded rear wing which penalized him greatly in the fast sections of Suzuka, preventing him from overtaking that the “green” could have attempted.

Alonso's rear wing in the Suzuka race was less loaded than Stroll's

Photo credit: Aston Martin Racing

But how has Aston Martin changed? In addition to having two different rear wing configurations, the first features concerned the bottom and the redesign of the sides. The AMR24 is one of the cars with very strong aerodynamic choices: before the Red Bull at Silverstone they focused on reducing the section of the radiator mouth, with a tray that curves at the top, choosing to draw the cooling air from top.

Looking at the belly that debuted in Japan, there was a clear intention to take some concepts that Adrian Newey had introduced in the dominant RB19 last year. In Aston Martin, in fact, they have slimmed down the outer edge of the belly just behind the radiator openings, with the clear intention of moving the flow towards the bottom. The change in philosophy also shows how the external wall of the side reduces the Grand Canyon which was a feature of this single-seater to reduce resistance to progress.

The changes to the lower part of the sidepod are also important: the undercut is now larger because the belly is more hollowed out around the mechanics. The air channel that is conveyed towards the rear axle is decidedly greater in search of more downforce.

A small air vent has appeared in the vertical wall of the bazooka, useful for dissipating the heat from the radiators, while the bottom has a totally new design: the flow diverters that define the four tunnels have been revised, as are the vents of the first two on the lateral trailing edge of the sidewalk. The side wing is also new and connects better to the rest of the bottom since the slot that had been opened in front of the rear wheels has disappeared.

Aston Martin AMR24: the micro flow diverter to the front suspension

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

The micro flow diverter which moves the air upwards from the rear arm of the front suspension to a point where leaks were observed in the wind tunnel has been confirmed.

As we have seen, Aston Martin has changed aerodynamic orientation a bit: the Suzuka car did not express the actual value of the changes seen in the wind tunnel, but Fallows expects to be able to exploit the package in Shanghai and Miami, while the other rival teams (Ferrari and Mercedes) have planned to churn out updates from Imola. Playing in advance, as Red Bull has already done, can be a winning weapon in the delicate game of developments…