Aston Martin’s crisis period persists with no apparent end in sight. In October, the Silverstone team introduced the largest evolutionary package of the season, yet once again, the updates have introduced new problems. The three-race stint overseas has become a prolonged test session for the British team, which even reinstalled a floor from Imola. The objective for the rest of the season is to get the most out of the substantial updates introduced in Austin, but even more important is finding answers to numerous questions.
The Situation
Aston Martin is revisiting a situation it faced in 2023, where the increased downforce and efficiency from updates came with a deterioration in balance and aerodynamic characteristics, resulting in minimal time gains. The goal for 2024 was to establish a solid development platform with a car offering a broader operating window. “Although we partially achieved this, we encountered drivability issues or discovered previously hidden features of the car,” technical director Dan Fallows recently explained in an interview with *Racecar Engineering*. “In part, we managed to address these, but throughout the year, we uncovered an increasing number of aspects, indicating that we hadn’t fully understood them yet. It seems many teams have faced similar challenges.”
Aston Martin has been grappling with an incomplete understanding of ground-effect physics, continuously uncovering new facets on the track. The narrow operating window also makes it difficult to deviate from the initial setup philosophy, limiting the ability to adjust ride height and car stance in response to numerous updates. Extracting performance from various evolutionary packages has thus become a real challenge.
For example, in the first half of the year, the team couldn’t capitalize on the developments from Imola, choosing instead to undertake extensive research and testing until July. At that point, Aston Martin expressed confidence in having gained a better understanding of the car’s dynamics, arriving in Budapest with additional updates intended to lay a more solid foundation for future developments. This led to the latest evolutionary package, introduced at Austin.
October Updates
The updates in Austin began with a new front wing, a component Aston Martin has focused on extensively. Four versions have been developed in 2024, with the launch specification followed by evolutions at Imola, Silverstone, and Texas. The latest version features a different profile for the main plane, widening the central section that curves downward to generate more local downforce, moving away from the narrower dip introduced with the Silverstone wing.
The slot on the adjustable flap, previously used to generate an additional vortex, has been removed. The upper profiles also follow a different path, redirecting airflow toward the front suspension arms and, from there, to the floor. Regarding the front wing, the Austin specification shows a refined connection between the flaps and the outer endplate, with the last element now more separated to encourage airflow release and create vortices that mitigate the turbulent wake from the front wheels.
The new airflow field established by the front wing interacts with an updated floor, redesigned in the volumes of the Venturi channels and diffuser geometries. Unfortunately, these modifications are only minimally visible from the outside. A notable evolution in the lateral edge, particularly at the rear, now includes an opening that channels air into the lower area, energizing the airflow beneath the floor.
The most noticeable changes are in the bodywork. The sidepods feature a deeper cut on the lower section, also indicating an optimization of internal components like radiators and electronic boxes. The indent along the outer body surface has disappeared, and the slope of the chutes above the sidepods has been moved back. The common objective is to facilitate airflow toward the gearbox area, preserving greater energy to aid air extraction from the diffuser.
Work in Progress
Despite the extensive October package, Aston Martin’s situation remains complex. In Austin, Mexico City, and São Paulo, the team continued extensive testing, comparing the new updates with previous specifications and evaluating different setup philosophies. On some occasions, the team even breached parc fermé regulations, using races to experiment with ride heights and suspension stiffness to find better conditions for the floor. The most striking case was at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where a hybrid floor version combining Imola and Suzuka specifications was fitted.
Aston Martin’s issue is not simply one of correlation. On the contrary, in wind tunnel and CFD simulations, the updates yield expected values in terms of downforce, efficiency, and balance. The difficulties arise from phenomena that can only be analyzed on the track, such as transients, transitions between corner phases, or floor-to-ground impacts. “We’ve found that, for the most part, [the updates] behave as we expect, although there are sometimes slightly underestimated consequences, or others we are aware of but that have a heavier impact on performance,” Dan Fallows told *Racecar Engineering*. The study continues at Aston Martin, with the upcoming triple-header being the last opportunity to conduct tests with a view toward 2025.
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