For years Andrew Green has been recognized as the most skilled Formula 1 engineer in operating on a tight budget.
In a period of budget cap it has become a much sought after skill, but in reality in the Silverstone headquarters ex-Racing Point and now Aston Martin, things have changed drastically in the last two years.
At the presentation of the AMR22, Green confirmed that this season the team will work within the constraints imposed by the budget cap, with a development program in line with that of Mercedes and Red Bull.
And speaking of Mercedes, Green reiterated that on the new car the components arrived from the Brackley headquarters are only the gearbox and rear suspension in addition to the power unit. The internal investments of the team are huge, and Aston Martin aims to become an ambitious and obviously independent entity to the point of throwing an eye also to the specifications of the 2026 power units. At least in words, the controversy of the single-seater ‘copy ‘of 2020 seem to be a memory.
You are probably the first team to have presented a complete car …
“Our plan was to complete a shakedown as soon as possible (it’s underway today at Silverstone) in order to get a first idea of how all the systems on the machine are working. We took some time to solve any problems before leaving for Barcelona, and obviously it made sense to present the car the day before the track tests ”.
There have been a lot of changes in the team over the past year. Has your position within the team also changed in terms of tasks and responsibilities?
“We have a five-year plan at the end of which the goal is to have a car that can fight for the championship. To do this, you need to invest in personnel in equipment, and we have started this process. “
“My role now allows me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, evaluating what is needed. For some time this team has not had the opportunity to make investments, and for this reason the arrival of personnel also from other teams allows us to make up for some of the lost time ”.
You have been in Formula 1 for a long time. Are we on the eve of the biggest regulatory change you have experienced firsthand?
“Oh yeah, it’s by far the biggest change you remember, I’d say almost ever. My career began in 1991, and from that year on undoubtedly yes, the biggest change. It has been a huge, exciting, demanding challenge, and there is so much to do, we are only just starting to explore these regulations ”.
Will you be able to bring updates as often as the big teams? Or is there still something missing on this front?
“We will have to keep in mind the budget cap, but I think we will be able to bring updates at least as often as Mercedes and Red Bull. We are still working to reach the maximum cost, that’s for sure, for us it is a novelty and this season we are very close “.
“I think the finances available to the team are really very good, we no longer have the limits of the past, that’s a memory. At the moment our limits are in the resources, the latest generation tools that are used to develop the car as they help to take the right decisions. It is the gap that we will have to fill as soon as possible, the last step, but coming back to the question, I think you will see a lot of developments on this car over the course of the season… a lot ”.
Do you think that in the future we will be able to see Aston Martin also in the role of an engineer?
“We always want to move forward with our ambitions. We are evaluating a possible commitment of this type, as a team we would like to be involved. We now have a new sponsor, Aramco, conversations will go on in the next few years, we’ll see. I am sure that we will examine it in detail and understand if there is an advantage in going in that direction ”.
How many components mounted on this car come from Mercedes?
“It is in line with what has been done in previous years, namely the gearbox and the rear suspension”.
Why have you used fewer Mercedes parts than the regulation allows?
“We immediately decided that by purchasing the gearbox we would have to leave its rear suspension, but otherwise we wanted to start with the project without having to wait for the supplier’s directions. If we had waited we would have started late with the definition of our chassis ”.
#Green #Aston #Martin #thinking #engineer