Aston Martin’s deputy technical director Eric Blandin says the team will “soon” reach a point where they have “everything” they need to be successful and there can “be no excuses”.
Having bought the Force India team, an outfit known for punching above its weight, Lawrence Stroll has invested heavily. To date, though, it hasn’t paid off – at least not in the results’ table.
Aston Martin recorded back-to-back P7s in the Constructors’ Championship and in 2022 didn’t even reach the podium.
It wasn’t the campaign the team had expected, Aston Martin like the rest of the sport’s midfield teams having hoped the all-new technical regulations would have boosted them up the order.
It wasn’t to be, the team’s best-placed finishes being their hat-trick of P6s.
But despite the on-track struggles there is a lot of work going on in the background with Aston Martin investing in a new factory and wind tunnel.
Blandin reckons once those are in play, the team will have “no excuses” not to chase success.
“It’s coming together: the car, the people, the resources,” he said in an interview on the team’s website.
“You can feel the energy. Even if we don’t get it right this year or next year, or don’t make the step forward we’re aiming for, we will eventually.
“There’s a strong feeling, a belief, that we’re on the right path. It’s going to take a few years to become championship contenders, but soon we will have everything we need to be successful.
“There will be no excuses.”
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The deputy technical director has previously spoken of his excitement over the team’s 2023 car, the AMR23, with the team having found “small loopholes” that have allowed them to come up with “clever innovations”.
But that’s not to say they won’t get it wrong.
“If we get it wrong and the car doesn’t perform the way we want,” Blandin said, “we have to be honest about it and work together to find the solutions.
“First, we need to understand why the car isn’t performing – where the issues are – and, based on what we have learned, then we need to find and implement the solutions to the problems.
“There’s nothing we can’t overcome. As a team, we can overcome any challenge we face.”
He added: “There is always this risk. An F1 car is extremely complex, it’s a puzzle. But you have to trust the information you’ve got, your experience and also your instinct – your gut feeling.
“Naturally you still question things – you have to, no one is capable of knowing everything – but you must believe in yourself. You have to believe that you’re on the right path.”
