Has Mercedes overtaken Aston Martin? Reasons why you need to wait

What happened to F1 Spanish GP raises many doubts. Mercedes, with a half-new car that it has already shown in Monaco, abandoning the innovative but failed single-seater concept without pontoons, with sides more in the style of Red Bull and Aston Martin, surprised everyone in improving it. Hamilton was 2nd and Russell 3rd with a great comeback from 12th place.

Ferrari, for its part, presented an important package of improvements with new sidepods and other elements with the aim of making the car easier to manage.less predictable, and more importantly, that did not sink the race due to its massive damage after competing for pole positions as was the case in the first appointments. However, the Italians again suffered a final setbackwith the same lack of consistency in tires in different track conditions and again, with significant wear and tear.

And then, there’s the case of Aston Martin. He presented novelties in Monaco and Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​but not as big as his rivals. The green car has always been the second best speed car in the race due to its excellent tire management. Fernando came from making 5 podiums out of 6 possible and is expected to fight again for the drawer that Sunday is a great strength. But In the race, with the soft rubber, which they put in the first and second sessions, Alonso did not get the expected rhythm. Mercedes is superior.

Has Mercedes surpassed Aston Martin thanks to its evolutions? It is true that Barcelona is one of the most represented tracks. If you’re good at Circuit, you’ll be fast on most tracks on the calendar. But in this case, we must be careful before proving that those with stars have surpassed those in green. It may be a matter of one day. The reason: the unusual temperature of the track.

Temperature can change the image

The clouds caused the asphalt to have a cooler temperature than usual in Barcelona at this time. AND that element can change all parameters. For example, high temperatures reduce downforce, engine performance and, above all, reduce tire stiffness. Aston Martin’s great strength is how well it takes care of its wheels. If the temperature were higher, the speed of the Oviedo race should be better.

Mercedes has taken a step forward it seems clear. but even so Toto Wolff, owner of Mercedesthere are doubts about what was seen in Barcelona: “The low temperature on Sunday and Saturday was very good for us. It was very cold and the car was with a big window”explained the Austrian, without hiding that the evolutions continued in his car at last “in the right direction”.

Aston Martin and Alonso can improve, calm down

For his part, Alonso wasn’t worried, hinting that in Canada he’ll be fighting for podiums againespecially because for Looking forward to Montreal’s important evolution in the green caras well as new pieces on Silverstone. Furthermore, his car was out of racing position due to qualifying mistakes. If he was first, Fernando believes he can fight for the box again.

By regulation, Aston Martin had more time in the wind tunnel than its rivals to develop its car, an advantage for this early part of the course. But at the same time, when they had just started their move to their big new factory, they don’t have the production equipment and resources (they will have them in the coming years) for the creation of parts that Ferrari and Mercedes have in their headquarters because of the huge investments these big groups have made over the years year, without limitations, before the arrival of the budget ceiling.

That could be another major factor. We will have to wait to see if those from Silverstone took advantage of that time to draw conclusions that, although they took longer to arrive than their rivals, could have made a difference since the summer. For now, Canada will be an important date to confirm whether what is seen in Barcelona is just a specific thing or a trend. We have to wait.

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