2024 Aston Martin | Aramco F1 Team

[Redragon]

If it's the rear suspension, it's not the suspension design that is the problem. It would be how it's being implemented in the AMR24.

Yes, but Mercedes' rear suspension wasn't done at the last moment, probably at the beginning of 2023 they communicated their project to Aston and consequently the AMR24 was born on that.

Vowles (Williams) said that they decided to use the old suspension that they were able to start the wind tunnel runs 4 months earlier (April 2023).


It's fascinating how the tone changed from ALO in the public since last year. No negative comments about the team, absolutely not. But way more demanding, knowing his position and his career status. From "it's a privilege to drive for AMR" to "let*s see if I continue, depends on myself, the car or if I have others options".

Personally I still believe that it's AMR for (at least) a 3rd season, or retirement. Neither Mercedes nor RBR will take him, other options are worse.

@updates to "please" ALO
How old are you? Do you really believe that AMR can move an upgrade forward just because of a decision of a driver? They build new parts, when they believe it's worth to. No reason to spend a lot of money in the cost cap era for a new underfloor (for example) when it's only worth half a tenth.

The team has said have an aggressive program of upgrades. It is not only Alonso demanding os the team themselves.

Also yesterday Alonso picture of the cafe in Monaco on instagram is the same cafe that Toto and Briatore were last week. Talks are happening. The he goes to other team is to be see

[Juzh]

For 2026, if Ford uses the Redbull engine

Ford using red bull engines? I guess you mean red bull using red bull engines, in part built using ford electric technologies.

[-wkst-]

Yes, but Mercedes' rear suspension wasn't done at the last moment, probably at the beginning of 2023 they communicated their project to Aston and consequently the AMR24 was born on that.

Vowles (Williams) said that they decided to use the old suspension that they were able to start the wind tunnel runs 4 months earlier (April 2023).


It's fascinating how the tone changed from ALO in the public since last year. No negative comments about the team, absolutely not. But way more demanding, knowing his position and his career status. From "it's a privilege to drive for AMR" to "let*s see if I continue, depends on myself, the car or if I have others options".

Personally I still believe that it's AMR for (at least) a 3rd season, or retirement. Neither Mercedes nor RBR will take him, other options are worse.

@updates to "please" ALO
How old are you? Do you really believe that AMR can move an upgrade forward just because of a decision of a driver? They build new parts, when they believe it's worth to. No reason to spend a lot of money in the cost cap era for a new underfloor (for example) when it's only worth half a tenth.

The team has said have an aggressive program of upgrades. It is not only Alonso demanding os the team themselves.

Also yesterday Alonso picture of the cafe in Monaco on instagram is the same cafe that Toto and Briatore were last week. Talks are happening. The he goes to other team is to be see

First of all, the picture from Wolff and Briatore wasn't last week, but a month ago, published from Briatore. If negotiations would be serious, they wouldn't publish such pictures. Everyone knows the link from Briatore to ALO, Mercedes is without 2nd driver - good publicity for both sides, but nothing more.

Second, I don't understand the link to the recent ALO picture. It wasn't even the same coffee shop, only the same company in Monaco. ALO obviously lives in Monaco currently and went for a coffee after coming home from Saudi Arabia.

- Regarding the "development plan":

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1021304/1 ... cally-2023

Sounds familiar to this year, eh?

Their development plan won't be much different compared to last year, as it's similar for most teams. First big upgrades in Imola most probably (as was the plan for last year too - Schmidt talked with Whitmarsh at launch last year). The big question is rather, if their updates work this time...

[diffuser]

Alonso explicitly mentioned the update on the front corner that it gave them a little bit of an improvement. I messed with brightness and contrast on some photos and compared them with Bahrain but didn't see anything new on the outside. I don't think he is lying there, so it must be something you can't really see from shots taken from the front, or I'm just blind

probably something like changing camber, or one of the many other things they do to these cars that most people have no clue about. and cant easily see.

There was a clear upgraded marked in the front wheel area on the FIA pages for AMR for Jeddah.

[OnEcRiTiCaL]

Vowles (Williams) said that they decided to use the old suspension that they were able to start the wind tunnel runs 4 months earlier (April 2023).


It's fascinating how the tone changed from ALO in the public since last year. No negative comments about the team, absolutely not. But way more demanding, knowing his position and his career status. From "it's a privilege to drive for AMR" to "let*s see if I continue, depends on myself, the car or if I have others options".

Personally I still believe that it's AMR for (at least) a 3rd season, or retirement. Neither Mercedes nor RBR will take him, other options are worse.

@updates to "please" ALO
How old are you? Do you really believe that AMR can move an upgrade forward just because of a decision of a driver? They build new parts, when they believe it's worth to. No reason to spend a lot of money in the cost cap era for a new underfloor (for example) when it's only worth half a tenth.

The team has said have an aggressive program of upgrades. It is not only Alonso demanding os the team themselves.

Also yesterday Alonso picture of the cafe in Monaco on instagram is the same cafe that Toto and Briatore were last week. Talks are happening. The he goes to other team is to be see

First of all, the picture from Wolff and Briatore wasn't last week, but a month ago, published from Briatore. If negotiations would be serious, they wouldn't publish such pictures. Everyone knows the link from Briatore to ALO, Mercedes is without 2nd driver - good publicity for both sides, but nothing more.

Second, I don't understand the link to the recent ALO picture. It wasn't even the same coffee shop, only the same company in Monaco. ALO obviously lives in Monaco currently and went for a coffee after coming home from Saudi Arabia.

- Regarding the "development plan":

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1021304/1 ... cally-2023

Sounds familiar to this year, eh?

Their development plan won't be much different compared to last year, as it's similar for most teams. First big upgrades in Imola most probably (as was the plan for last year too - Schmidt talked with Whitmarsh at launch last year). The big question is rather, if their updates work this time...

Krack said they have much better upgrade plans for this year,more aggressive and keep out till end of the season. Last year he said since Canada they just changed parts and tested, but wasn't much upgrade except track specific.

[xReVo]

AM wants to retain Alonso; they have expressed it multiple times. That been said , Alonso won't be able to dictate upgrade schedule. Team will be transparent & share all the details but won't get into flattery business. They have already burned hands with development shenanigans last year.

I think Dan Fallows himself said there will be aggressive and frequent updates, so it's not Alonso's idea. However, in my opinion Aston Martin should think very thoroughly about 2026 from now on, otherwise they will be left behind.

They think about 2026 of course, but is an totally different group and organisation. I think you really don't understand how F1 team work.:S

I know how it works, Fallows himself declared last year that part of the team was dedicated to AMR23 and the other part to AMR24. The focal point is that you can't win either this year or next year, so I'm not saying throw away these seasons but employ at least 80% of the team in 2026.

[xReVo]

Now that you mention 2026

Bob Bell: "It's important to fully integrate the engine with the rest of the car. At Renault, my role was to stress the need for this integration and to push it as far as possible."

"In F1, where it's all about marginal gains, the benefits of full integration are tangible. It's not just about the chassis or engine design, how they fit together, but rather how they operate together, the harmony of the control systems, how you make the car work to score points on Sunday afternoon."

"Until now, that advantage has been the preserve of Mercedes and Ferrari. Given the sophistication of today's powertrains, being a factory team is a major advantage. It's a much more integrated challenge than what I've experienced previously."

"At Renault, being separated by the English Channel complicated things a little. It's much simpler for Ferrari, where all the departments are housed under the same roof. In comparison, it's more difficult for Mercedes, because Brackley and Brixworth are some thirty kilometres apart. However, there's no big difference between being separated by 30 km or 300 km: either you're in the same building, or you're not."

https://f1i.autojournal.fr/magazine/mag ... in-alonso/

Seems a good signing for 2026.

For this reason Ferrari makes excellent engines, it is no coincidence that it is probably the best on the grid. But Aston Martin does not make engines and will be supported by Honda in 2026, but they will always be conditioned by third parties and Honda must adapt to Aston Martin's project, but you cannot control it directly in your factory like Ferrari or Mercedes does. Redbull in my opinion, have understood this and in fact trained their Powertrain engineers (the Ford engine will be overhauled by them). And I hope that Honda is already working assiduously on the 2026 engine because otherwise it will be a problem.

[-wkst-]

Krack said they have much better upgrade plans for this year,more aggressive and keep out till end of the season. Last year he said since Canada they just changed parts and tested, but wasn't much upgrade except track specific.

And maybe next year he will say the same thing again...
Fact is that the talk about updates this year is pretty similar to last season at this stage. Last year they failed in the development race, let's see if they do a better job this year.

@xrevo
Red Bull would have loved to continue with Honda, but it was just to late for them...

Honda ist by far the best thing which happened for the racing team since Stroll bought the team (and maybe the shitload of money from Aramco).

[Redragon]

Vowles (Williams) said that they decided to use the old suspension that they were able to start the wind tunnel runs 4 months earlier (April 2023).


It's fascinating how the tone changed from ALO in the public since last year. No negative comments about the team, absolutely not. But way more demanding, knowing his position and his career status. From "it's a privilege to drive for AMR" to "let*s see if I continue, depends on myself, the car or if I have others options".

Personally I still believe that it's AMR for (at least) a 3rd season, or retirement. Neither Mercedes nor RBR will take him, other options are worse.

@updates to "please" ALO
How old are you? Do you really believe that AMR can move an upgrade forward just because of a decision of a driver? They build new parts, when they believe it's worth to. No reason to spend a lot of money in the cost cap era for a new underfloor (for example) when it's only worth half a tenth.

The team has said have an aggressive program of upgrades. It is not only Alonso demanding os the team themselves.

Also yesterday Alonso picture of the cafe in Monaco on instagram is the same cafe that Toto and Briatore were last week. Talks are happening. The he goes to other team is to be see

First of all, the picture from Wolff and Briatore wasn't last week, but a month ago, published from Briatore. If negotiations would be serious, they wouldn't publish such pictures. Everyone knows the link from Briatore to ALO, Mercedes is without 2nd driver - good publicity for both sides, but nothing more.

Second, I don't understand the link to the recent ALO picture. It wasn't even the same coffee shop, only the same company in Monaco. ALO obviously lives in Monaco currently and went for a coffee after coming home from Saudi Arabia.

- Regarding the "development plan":

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1021304/1 ... cally-2023

Sounds familiar to this year, eh?

Their development plan won't be much different compared to last year, as it's similar for most teams. First big upgrades in Imola most probably (as was the plan for last year too - Schmidt talked with Whitmarsh at launch last year). The big question is rather, if their updates work this time...

The team has stated few times have aggressive development and will not do same mistakes as last year. So I don’t know why we shouldn’t believe them for now. I don’t think is alonso pushing them. But I am sure is a good motivation to work harder.


Secondly is the same cafe. https://ibb.co/ySLTDbn as this photo demonstrates. I believe is owned by Briatore. And talks are happening as closer to Alonso on Spanish media are reporting. Briatore is Alonso manager. Also Alonso residency is not at Monaco at the moment. So the tag “Happy to be at home” has probably more meaning behind.

I don’t think is hidden that he probably is talking to other teams and seeing what are the possibilities or offers. No doing so would be a bit silly

[Otromundo]

https://postimages.org/

First Floor Picture

Thank you very much for the image

[diffuser]

I think Dan Fallows himself said there will be aggressive and frequent updates, so it's not Alonso's idea. However, in my opinion Aston Martin should think very thoroughly about 2026 from now on, otherwise they will be left behind.

They think about 2026 of course, but is an totally different group and organisation. I think you really don't understand how F1 team work.:S

I know how it works, Fallows himself declared last year that part of the team was dedicated to AMR23 and the other part to AMR24. The focal point is that you can't win either this year or next year, so I'm not saying throw away these seasons but employ at least 80% of the team in 2026.

I know Dan said that but it's common knowledge that every team does that. They'll probably start putting people on the AMR25 project when they come to the first round of euro races. I heard that they put a team together to improve the DRS performance last year, that was probably a team that went into the AMR24 project early so they could put their improvements in to the initial designs.
As far as 2026, the regulations aren't finalised yet. Hard to start designing stuff when you don't know what you can and can't do.

You could move design people onto the 2026 project once the rules are finalised, if it's allowed, but you can't move manufacturing people over. You only have a certain number of Manufacturing people and generally they will work on the current year's car and will slowly migrate to the following season's car(AMR35) as work to AMR24 starts to dry up.

[-wkst-]

@redragon
It's not even my own study, just read some comments about the picture of ALO. It's the same brand, but not the same location. But even if it would be, I simply don't get the connection to a picture, which was taken a month ago.

I don't know the primary residence of ALO, but he obviously has a residence in Monaco, otherwise he couldn't register cars there (like his Ferrari)...

Spanish media? Enough said. As Wolff mentioned in an Austrian newspaper, Mercedes has enough time to choose the 2nd driver (obviously looking how the RBR story with VER continues). ALO is at best plan C or D. But the pictures Briatore+Wolff was at least good for the leverage position for ALO with AMR (which was maybe the main goal from Briatore and ALO).

[Waz]

Mercedes runs very low with the car and doesn't have the problems that Aston Martin has. So I don't understand why you consider the rear suspension a problem.

If it's the rear suspension, it's not the suspension design that is the problem. It would be how it's being implemented in the AMR24.

Yes, but Mercedes' rear suspension wasn't done at the last moment, probably at the beginning of 2023 they communicated their project to Aston and consequently the AMR24 was born on that.

Can't remember which thread it was in, but there were reports of correlation issues at Mercedes when they tested the suspension on the 7 post rig.

This created an obvious delay and Mercedes needed the first test to properly confirm they had solved the correlation.

Dan Fallows alluded to a delay in rear suspension, or at least, some dissatisfaction with an aspect of it just after launch.

It's been fairly clear from Mercedes and Aston Martin that the rear suspension hasn't been dialled in properly yet, with complaints about instability at the rear. That doesn't mean they can't run it at a lower ride height. It's a set up issue they haven't had the time to solve.

[delsando53]

Specifically, I am interested in understanding whether Aston Martin F1 has any clauses in their contract that permit them to utilize Mercedes suspensions and are allowed to modify or adapt these components. Alternatively, I would like to know whether the team has the autonomy to develop and manufacture their own suspension systems. or is it homologated.

[diffuser]

If it's the rear suspension, it's not the suspension design that is the problem. It would be how it's being implemented in the AMR24.

Yes, but Mercedes' rear suspension wasn't done at the last moment, probably at the beginning of 2023 they communicated their project to Aston and consequently the AMR24 was born on that.

Can't remember which thread it was in, but there were reports of correlation issues at Mercedes when they tested the suspension on the 7 post rig.

This created an obvious delay and Mercedes needed the first test to properly confirm they had solved the correlation.

Dan Fallows alluded to a delay in rear suspension, or at least, some dissatisfaction with an aspect of it just after launch.

It's been fairly clear from Mercedes and Aston Martin that the rear suspension hasn't been dialled in properly yet, with complaints about instability at the rear. That doesn't mean they can't run it at a lower ride height. It's a set up issue they haven't had the time to solve.

Wolfe said Merc still have correlation issues. It's why they had cooling issues in Bahrain and why they had bouncing in Jeddah. They said they dialed out the bouncing in FP3 but it came back in quali and the race. It would seem their issue is aero related and has nothing to do with the rear suspension.