Why Aston Martin faces same McLaren hurdle in its push to the front in F1

Indeed, the narrative surrounding the Silverstone-based squad these days is more about when it will start winning in F1, rather than if.

With its new star driver, the fruits of its recruitment drive paying off with its AMR23 design, a new factory almost finished, and the support of huge investment from Lawrence Stroll, all the right elements appear to be falling into place for that push towards the front.

As Alonso himself remarked at last week’s launch: “There is something going on in this team that makes things special.

“You need the investment, and you need the talent in Formula 1. We have the investment, we have the facilities, and we have the talent. So it’s just a matter of time.”

But, while there is a quiet sense of optimism at Silverstone about its chances of moving forward in 2023 following a pretty difficult 2022 campaign, there is equally some realism about the journey ahead.

Just as midfield rival McLaren has accepted that it cannot hope to challenge the top three teams until it starts reaping the benefits of a new wind tunnel and simulator, so too is Aston Martin mindful of its own infrastructure limitations.

New technical director Dan Fallows, who has plenty of experience in what is needed to win world championships following his many years at Red Bull, is encouraged by a lot of the elements he has found at Aston Martin.

Yet, with the top teams still benefitting from infrastructure legacies built up when there was no cost cap, there remain gaps to them that simply cannot be closed from one winter to the next.

“We’ve definitely got the facilities to be competitive,” said Fallows. “But we have to be realistic that we are not at the same level as some of the top teams, and I say that from the point of view of the facilities rather than the expertise. I think we’re very strong in that regard.

“For example, I was very impressed with the general level of expertise we had in the team when I joined.

“The key bits that are missing are the wind tunnel, which we’re clearly looking at. We are very fortunate in using the Mercedes wind tunnel at the moment. But there are limitations to that.

“There’s no substitute to having your own, and the flexibility of testing the way you want. There are simulation facilities and so on that are also going to come online.

“Does that stop us progressing in the way that we want? Absolutely not. But are they key for sustained performance gains in the future?…