After finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship last year under his previous Racing Point manner, Aston Martin has set a goal this year to lead the midfield teams by finishing third overall.
But the downforce cuts of the 2021 cars seemed to hit Aston Martin the hardest, causing the team’s form to collapse compared to midfield rivals McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine and AlphaTauri.
The team scored just five points in the first four races of the year – all courtesy of Lance Stroll – and is seventh in the overall standings, just ahead of the pointless trio of Alfa Romeo, Williams and Haas.
Szafnauer said ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend that third place now seemed out of reach for Aston Martin but hoped he could recover to a top five result.
“I think P3 is unfortunately a step too far,” said Szafnauer. “We’ll fight hard in midfield to see how high we can get. But yes, we want to be in the top half by the end of the year. “
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The Aston Martin name returned to the grid for the first time in 61 years after Lawrence Stroll, owner of the Racing Point team, invested in the British car brand, laying the foundation for his ambition to become champions of the championship do.
Szafnauer felt no additional pressure from Stroll or the other shareholders due to the team’s struggles in 2021, and said the entire team was realistic about its current position.
“Neither of us is satisfied with the situation,” said Szafnauer.
“We have to be realistic about what we can do with a frozen car, frozen rake, and regulations that are changing significantly for 2022.
“So we just have to be realistic to understand the situation we are in and do our best with the car and the tools we have.
“Of course there is always pressure if you don’t achieve what you had in mind. But as I said, we all have to be realistic and do what we can without jeopardizing the 2022 program. “
When asked by Motorsport.com whether the tough start to the year allowed Aston Martin to move more resources to 2022 earlier than expected, Szafnauer said it hadn’t changed its original plans.
“Not really, we had a plan that we didn’t deviate from,” said Szafnauer.
“But that was a plan last year as to how far we would develop this year’s car this season. We are still on track. “
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