Aston Martin happy with Mercedes partnership: 'Great boost'

Aston Martin hopes to step up to the front of the midfield with the AMR23. Compared to last season's challenger, much has changed. In fact, according to technical director Dan Fallows, 95 per cent of the 2023 car is different. During a press briefing with GPblog and others, he explained what changes the new car has undergone this winter.

"The side pods are a big area of difference. I wouldn't say that has been our majority focus," Fallows kicks off. "There are improvements and changes throughout the whole car, obviously quite a lot you can't see. Underneath the skin there is quite substantial engineering improvements to the mechanical components and aerodynamics."

Optically, then, things have changed at Aston Martin, but the big gains are invisible. "There are a lot of other aspects of the aerodynamics which I'm hoping you can't see as well just yet! While the side pods are an obvious thing from a visual point of view, that's one of the areas we have worked on, but it does demonstrate the aggressive approach we have taken with this car," he states.

Gearboxes from Mercedes

The British formation uses gearboxes from Mercedes. When building the chassis, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll's team must therefore take into account dimensions determined by the German supplier. This may limit your aerodynamic development, but this has not been the case with Aston Martin.

Instead, Fallows speaks of being "lucky" to be working with Aston Martin. ""We are very fortunate to have a partnership with Mercedes and to be able use their expertise in our car. It hasn't been an handicap for us. It's been a big boost for us. They do their own development, we have to put our aerodynamic surfaces on their rear suspension so it's not entirely theirs."