But that’s just the hardware. What Aston also has in its favor is a second year of understanding the car. Just taking on another team’s design doesn’t mean you understand it and therefore know how best to do it. Last year the team was still on a voyage of discovery to see how they behaved and reacted. On the seven overlapping 2019-20 circuits that used the same tire compounds, Racing Point still qualified 0.5 seconds slower than the nearly identical 2019 Mercedes. Part of that will be driver performance, but not all. Mercedes’ James Allison is actually very impressed with how much of the car’s potential racing point has been achieved over the past year. “One of the things that Racing Point might deserve more credit for is a) the courage they showed and b) the skill with which they did it because they did a good job on this jump. ”
A second year in a row with the car should bring this team – even without upgrading the chassis – more advantages if they understand their car better.
The team rebranding is just that; Nothing fundamental changes inside. The same people are still running and developing the car, this beautiful stable base remains undisturbed. The only change is that of Sebastian Vettel in place of Sergio Perez. Given Vettel’s underperformance last season, this is the only serious question mark – which sounds strange for a four-time world champion, but that’s exactly how it is. But exactly what Vettel longs for, especially in a car, is the stability of the rear – which Ferrari didn’t have last year. It was noteworthy that Vettel’s deficit on Charles Leclerc narrowed significantly when Ferrari managed to improve this aspect of its car in the final third of the season. A benign Mercedes-based low-rake car – with an update that brings even more stability to the rear, it sounds just like a car that Vettel can start building his reputation in. In addition, on a nice, simple, straightforward racing team, he will certainly be in a happier environment than in previous years, and that too can only have a positive effect on his personal performance.
Depending on the progress Red Bull-Honda and Ferrari are making (and both have major engine upgrades as well as the developments they have made on the cars themselves), Aston Martin certainly has a realistic chance of being the second fastest team this year.
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