Aston Martin Updates: Significant Package of Novelties at the Hungarian GP
By Valerio Barretta and Carlo Platella
Aston Martin arrives at the Hungarian GP with one of the most important update packages of the season, an evolution that the team hopes can bring the AMR26 back into the midfield battle. The team has introduced two new chassis, accompanied by significant aerodynamic development and an overall weight reduction of the car, interventions that represent the core of Aston Martin’s updates for the Budapest weekend.
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The Budapest Package
In a press conference held at the Hungaroring, Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack presented the AMR26’s evolutionary package, reiterating that both Fernando Alonso’s and Lance Stroll’s cars will have the same specifications. Furthermore, the updates would not be a revolution of the car’s concept, but rather an important evolution of the existing platform. The main objective is to reduce the performance gap before focusing on optimizing the integration between chassis and power unit, an aspect that, according to the team, will become increasingly decisive in the car’s development.
The package includes numerous aerodynamic innovations, but not only. As anticipated in recent weeks by Adrian Newey, the team has worked hard to get closer to the minimum weight, ensuring a lightening of the car that will help improve lap times.
The team has also studied a new packaging, modifying both the chassis and the cooling system configuration. Aston Martin says it is not worried about the budget cap, having not introduced other updates since the start of the season, while Honda hopes that the AMR26’s evolutionary step can also benefit the power unit, awaiting the new specification expected in Zandvoort.
Advantages for the Power Unit
Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s Chief Engineer, also commented on the new mechanical and aerodynamic package, predicting an intense weekend for the Japanese engine manufacturer, tasked with studying the effects of the chassis innovations: “We have a program to verify how all this affects our power unit“. In particular, an improvement in aerodynamic performance would also bring benefits to hybrid utilization: “Cornering will significantly impact energy management, as well as drivability. This is because accelerator usage will change significantly compared to recent events. In the first two free practice sessions, we will be very busy adapting to the cornering speeds of the new chassis, in order to correct our energy management and drivability.“
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The integration between chassis and power unit was one of Aston Martin’s critical issues at the beginning of the year, especially regarding vibrations, a problem, however, that Honda is confident will not recur: “HRC and the guys in the factory have worked closely to bring this chassis and are optimistic that it will not cause battery vibration problems“. Meanwhile, work continues in Sakura on the updated power unit, expected to debut at Zandvoort. Rumors speak of a gain of as much as 50 horsepower, promptly denied by Orihara: “I don’t think that’s the real number.”
Expectations
Despite the enthusiasm for the new package, Aston Martin urges caution. Krack emphasizes that it will take time to fully understand the behavior of the new configuration (“When you bring such substantial updates, you have to learn them as quickly as possible. But we don’t expect to put everything together tomorrow, it will take time“), collecting data on setups, ride heights, and simulations.
For Aston Martin, the success of the weekend will not necessarily be linked to the final result, but to the ability to become competitive again: “The reason we are doing all this is to get back to racing. We haven’t been racing in recent weekends, and that’s what we need to get back to. I cannot predict the position we will be competing in, but the fundamental issue is that we are back in the game, we weren’t before. If we can fight for something, understand the behavior of the new car, and complete the race with both cars finishing, it will have been a good weekend“.
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