Aston Martin cautious about a return to form despite a strong F1 Canada result

In the Montreal wet classic, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished sixth and seventh respectively, with both drivers putting in a solid race to finish behind the inherently faster cars of Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren.

This was a big boost for the Silverstone team after falling behind their closest rivals in the first third of the 2024 season. RB seemed to have overtaken them in the pecking order, but by 10 points ahead of Faenza in Montreal, Aston consolidated their position in fifth place.

However, ahead of a return to more traditional European venues such as Barcelona, ​​Red Bull and Silverstone, Aston Martin is not getting ahead of itself in assessing whether it has resolved the challenging handling characteristics and changing balance of its AMR24, which will be much more exposed to high-impact circuits. downforce, with longer and faster corners.

“It would be premature to say we have it all figured out,” warned team principal Mike Krack.

“I think we still have a lot of work to do. But obviously this weekend was a step in the right direction.

“We have different and difficult tracks coming up so we need to sit down and see what the best possible package will be for the upcoming races because they will be very intense.”

Stroll believed that the Aston’s performance in Montreal was track-specific due to its emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency and performance in slower corners.

Photo: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“The track definitely suited our car,” he said. “We’re quick in the straights, not too much downforce, efficient, good DRS change and all those things, which is good for Canada.

“The car may still be more difficult in Barcelona, ​​Budapest and these kinds of long corners.”

“We took advantage of a weekend where the car was quite strong all weekend. We will see in Barcelona, ​​on a completely different track, what we can do there. I think we (are solving our problems), but it’s not an overnight thing. Change.”

Alonso announced new improvements to his home race of the Spanish GP which he hopes will further turn around Aston’s fortunes, although he also feared the weekend in Barcelona would be more difficult for his team.

“On paper, we were happier with Montreal than with Barcelona. We think this track will be better for us, but let’s see if a nice surprise awaits us,” he added.

“I know the team is also working very hard to bring some new things to Barcelona, ​​so it will be a very interesting weekend. Let’s see if we can score points again with both cars, and that’s obviously our focus at the moment.

“The last few months have been very productive for us in terms of understanding the cars, so I’m very confident.”