The Aston Martin name returned to F1 in 2021, but their first two years in the sport were rather underwhelming. In 2023, however, they made major strides. For a large part of the season, the Silverstone-based outfit was second-fastest, behind Red Bull. Now, Aston Martin’s performance director Tom McCullough credits Sebastian Vettel for the success Fernando Alonso and his team tasted in 2023.
McCullough feels that the amount of work Vettel put in during his two-year stint with Aston Martin paved the way for a brighter future. Apparently, the only podium finish they had in the last two seasons was earned by Vettel.
“He is also a ruthless worker,” he said as quoted by GP Fans. “We often say that the driver is the best sensor in the car and much of the development. You have a wind tunnel, simulators, offline simulations, CFD.”
100th Podium ! What an amazing TEAM we have and fast car! Proud of you @AstonMartinF1 . pic.twitter.com/ozhApWJbc1
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 19, 2023
“But a driver whose back is well connected to the car can say ‘this is the phase of this type of cornering that I know we may have more trouble with than others’. And then you can dig into the data.”
In 2022, Aston Martin finished P7 with just 55 points to their name. 2023 saw them make a huge jump. They finished two places above, in P5, but with a whopping 280 points.
Aston Martin’s jump led by Fernando Alonso
Even though Tom McCullough feels Vettel is a big reason behind Aston Martin’s success, the four-time world champion was not there to be a part of it. At the end of the 2o22 season, Vettel retired from F1 and Aston Martin brought in Fernando Alonso as a replacement.
The Spaniard went off to a flying start with the British team. He earned 8 podium finishes with the team, which marked the Silverstone-based outfit’s best-ever season in F1. In the second half of the campaign, their charge admittedly slowed down.
In terms of development, Aston Martin struggled to match the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. As a result, they fell to P5 despite being second for a large part of the season. However, come 2024, they have bigger ambitions and are looking to compete for race wins.
