Aston Martin, improvements for the comeback operation: they want the podium at Zandvoort

This weekend is back Formula 1. After summer break, the The ‘Great Circus’ returns to Zandvoort with contention at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. before his audience, Max Verstappen, the outstanding leader of the World Cup, will be looking for his ninth consecutive victory of the year and, a priori, it seems that no one can put him in difficulty. In fact, all the excitement should be at the back, fighting for the podium in a chasing group that has completely changed in the last rounds.

The year started with Aston Martin as the second best car after Red Bull and a stellar Alonso who took advantage of that great car to sign 6 podiums in 8 races. But as the course progressed, in the development race against three great historical factories like Ferrari, Mercedes or McLaren, the green team began to lose steam. From second place in Canada, Alonso was 5th in Austria, 7th in Great Britain, 9th in Hungary and 5th in Belgium. It was in Hungary where it was confirmed that the green car was promoted by the best development carried out by a surprising McLaren, as well as Mercedes and, to a lesser extent, also by Ferrari. The Aston Martin became the 5th best single-seater, far from the positions of honor.

Silverstone’s frame has seen fewer improvements than others so far this year due to the fact that it has a smaller factory and has to outsource many of its parts. It did not start its big new factory until the British GP and the results of working in an impressive new headquarters, with the highest technology, should take time to see. Besides, the improvements introduced did not give the expected results and, as explained by the Team Principal, Mike Krack, they developed secondary effects that they did not expect in their car and that changed their behavior to the point of losing his great strength in the slow corner in Hungary.

Aston Martin evolutions and possible rain

After realizing what had happened, Aston Martin continued the attack at Zandvoort. He does this with conviction, with a speech that is very different from the tone from the beginning of the course: then, in a podium car, the team asks to “keep our feet on the ground”. Today, Mike Krack was more ambitious when he referred to the improvement he expected from his car from the weekend itself. At Zandvoort, Aston Martin is expected to present a large package of evolutions. Aston Martin is so optimistic, that Mike Krack was recently surprised by the response of a A resounding “yes” when asked on ‘Sky Sports’ if he thinks his team will be back on the podium this weekend in the Netherlands.

“There are some things planned for the Dutch GP, we hope to close the gap again,” Mike declared. No one expected Aston Martin to improve enough to fight for podiums at the start of 2023. Nor did anyone expect McLaren to do so in the middle of the course, nor Mercedes, after both teams started in more more problems than Aston Martin. Today, the green box wants to press the bell again with a clear evolution plan that will start in Zandvoort and should continue with further improvements in Singapore.

We have to see if the Silverstone box confirms another surprise to return to fight for the drawer with Fernando Alonso. Carlos Sainz will also have to fight to fight for the podium with his Ferrari, although his car may once again suffer serious tire damage in the race. To this we must add the possibility of rain for Saturday and Sunday, something that could change everything. The only certainty lies in Verstappen, a great favorite of all.