Ian Parkes & Will Gray
Thursday, April 1, 2021 4:09 AM
Otmar Szafnauer has promised the fans of Aston Martin that, despite the disastrous opening race in Bahrain, he has “not given up” this season.
The team that won the Sakhir Grand Prix around Bahrain’s Outer Circuit as Racing Point in early December last year has been more hampered than most by new rule changes for this season aimed at reducing downforce at the rear of the car.
Article continues under video
While Sebastian Vettel had a miserable weekend on his debut in the overall standings, Lance Stroll saved a point with 10th place.
With most teams considering when to switch their entire program to the 2022 regulations, which have been the most comprehensive in years, Szafnauer claims that the poor result in Bahrain will not yet force Aston Martin.
“There’s more to come,” emphasized Szafnauer. “We found things in the tunnel and in the CFD and will be putting them on the track soon.
“We haven’t given up this year. It is just a matter of bringing back the deficit that the FIA has placed on us through its rule change on safety.
“The changes were all made in the rear area of the floor and in the tire area. So here we have to look for more downforce, so we’re going to improve the downforce at the rear.
“With that comes a better balance, the opportunity to choose more front wings and hope that he takes off. Hopefully until we get to Portimao [the third race on May 2] We’ll have improved the car a bit and we’ll work hard on it. ”
As Racing Point, the team was heavily criticized last year for having modeled its car on the title-winning Mercedes of the previous season, which, like Aston Martin, pursues a low-rake philosophy.
That makes Szafnauer at least confident about the future, as Mercedes was able to make up for its own defeats after a hard-fought duel with Red Bull in Bahrain.
“We have to see what lap times they can achieve,” added Szafnauer.
“We have the same drive train, the same transmission, the same rear suspension. So if they can do those lap times, we should be close. That gives us hope. “
The post Aston Martin refuses to throw in the towel at F1 2021 first appeared on monter-une-startup.
