Is Aston Martin Close to Fixing F1 Troubles?: “That Gives Us Some Hope”

Racing Point, rebranded as Aston Martin this season, were contenders for the top-3 position in 2020. They missed the P3 finish to McLaren by a mere difference of seven points in the last race at Abu Dhabi. Racing Point had based their team on the 2019 Mercedes car, which earned them the nickname- Pink Mercedes.

Aston Martin’s aerodynamic philosophy is similar to the Brackley squad this season as well. The new regulations have affected both Mercedes and Aston Martin’s performance significantly this season. The luxury British racing team’s boss, Otmar Szafnauer, explained that they can learn from Mercedes’ performance in Bahrain.

He said, “I think for sure we have to look and see what type of lap times they are able to do. We have the same powertrain, the same gearbox, same rear suspension so if they are able to do some of those lap times, we should be able to get close – so that gives us some hope.”

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Aston Martin has major midfield competition this season

Two primary midfield competitions facing Aston Martin this season are Ferrari and McLaren. Ferrari suffered a major power unit setback last season, which opened up the P3 position for grabs. Meanwhile, McLaren took advantage of the Maranello outfit’s troubles and claimed the P3 position.

However, Ferrari have found a good chunk of their performance from last season. McLaren have also reunited with Mercedes and are gunning for another top-3 finish.

Otmar, recognizing the close competition, explained, “I think a lot of the teams are a lot closer to Mercedes this year than they were last year, including Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. I mean if you look back to see where Ferrari were three months ago and where they are now to Mercedes – just have a look at the lap times and that will give you a picture.”

Aston Martin signed Sebastian Vettel their comeback season and are hoping to claim the top-3 finish. However, after the first race, with just one point under their belt, things will be tougher than expected. Do you think Aston Martin will have their revenge on McLaren and come out on top?