Aston Martin Formula 1 boss Mike Krack has teased that the team has some “promising” developments in the pipeline drafted for its 2024 car.
The Silverstone-based squad emerged as a competitive front-running force in the nascent stages of the previous season to clinch six podiums in the first eight rounds.
However, Aston Martin’s momentum was derailed with a series of compromised upgrades, which saw the team drop from second to fifth place in the championship.
Aston Martin Technical Director Dan Fallows revealed at the launch of the team’s 2024 car that its aim was to build a base that will enable it to avoid a repeat slump occurring.
Speaking at the end of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Krack has revealed that Aston Martin is working towards achieving that with planned updates to its AMR24 charger.
“A successful test from our perspective,” Krack reflected. “We have focused on our programme and gradually worked through the usual system checks and test items.
“The AMR24 has run reliably and we have a good understanding of how the car is working. We have validated that we have taken a step forward over the winter – delivering gains and performance in key areas. It is a long season ahead and we have multiple projects in development – some of which are very promising.
“We respect the competition, and this test has demonstrated that the whole grid will be incredibly close this season – but we are excited for what is ahead.”
Fernando Alonso, who scored eight podiums in his debut season with Aston Martin, details the 2024 car as a step forward, but he admits that performance remains relative.
“We have tried to learn as much as possible during this test and focused on ourselves,” Alonso explained.
“It would be nice to have the predictions and knowledge of where everyone is but that is not the case in testing.
“The AMR24 is a step forward from last year and we just have to see how big of a step forward we have taken compared to everybody else. We will know more next week after qualifying.
“It was good to get a number of laps on the board over the three days and I feel fit and ready to go for the start of the new season.”
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll was enthused to sustain a seamless pre-season having had his preparations last season disrupted when he broke both wrists in a cycling accident.
“It’s great to be out in Bahrain for testing – I’m especially pleased to be here after missing last year’s pre-season test,” Stroll added.
“Time in the car is so valuable for all of us: we’re gathering data and learning about the AMR24 with every lap we complete. We’ve made good use of these days to run a lot of parts and set-ups – the car feels better every day – and we’ve not had any reliability issues.
“It’s still too early to make any big predictions, but I’m looking forward to first race of the year next week.”
