the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team are not being held back by using a Mercedes Benz customer power unit, according to Technical Director Dan Fallows.
Aston Martin are one of three customer teams on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship grid using Mercedes power alongside the McLaren F1 team other Williams Racingand TeamOwner Lawrence Stroll has said the team are aiming high to win championships in the coming years, which would mean they would need to beat the works Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team to do so.
However, Fallows believes that the Silverstone-based team are not losing out by being a customer team on the grid, and he feels the Mercedes power unit, as well as some gearbox and suspension components that are allowed under the listed parts regulations are only helping them at this stage.
“I don’t feel that is,” Fallows is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com about the possibility of using Mercedes engines is holding back the team. “And I certainly don’t feel that having the Mercedes HPP engine in our car has been in any way negative for us.
“I think it has proved its reliability, its performance is where it needs to be. I don’t really think in modern F1 that’s a problem at all.”
However, Fallows admits that the team may look in the future at bringing engine development into their own plans and factory, although it will need time to build the infrastructure to do so.
“I think we’re pretty open-minded about that kind of thing,” said Fallows. “As I said, I think what this team has gained from its relationship with MGP has been immense.
“And as we move into the future and do things our own way or take on our own projects, we’re very mindful that we have to be able to do them at least as well as, if not better than they do. That’s a capability we would have to build up before we even thought about making those decisions.”
Fallows says Lawrence Stroll has been very open about his ambitions for the Aston Martin team in Formula 1, but only time will tell in which direction development will go for them.
“Honestly, what we look at in the future is all open, really,” Fallows added. “Lawrence is very open about his ambitions for this team, and I think we always have to evaluate what is the next thing that will help us become more competitive.
“At the moment, I don’t see any of the stuff that we get from MGP is holding us back in any way.”
