(Motorsport-Total.com) – Aston Martin’s first major update to the 2023 Formula 1 season has been eagerly awaited, and the Brits haven’t disappointed. An all-new sidecar made its debut at the Canadian Grand Prix, taking the “down-wash” concept to an extreme.
Aston Martin turns heads in Canada with this understated wash slide
“It’s hard not to notice that this is our biggest update yet, you can see it with the naked eye,” said Dan Fallows, Aston Martin’s chief technology officer. “We have tried to provide updates for most of the previous races because we are following a line of continuous improvement. But this is our biggest update yet.”
The new shape of the side legs stands out with a “waterfall” that drops spectacularly at an angle never seen before. The channel is narrower than before, steep and also swings inward.
This directs the air from top to bottom as it interacts with the upper and lower body and diffuser. Known as the “bottom wash”, this concept became popular in Formula 1. It was originally introduced by Red Bull at the start of the 2022 season.
The concept has been in place since Spain 2022
The “in-wash” concept already coveted by the base marshals, in which air is funneled inward, Haas only pursued after Ferrari switched to “down-wash” at the Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes also abandoned the “zeropod” solution, in which the sidepods are dispensed with almost entirely, in favor of its own “down-wash” adaptation.
Photo gallery: Aston Martin’s Spectacular Canada update
Aston Martin has already switched to the ‘wash’ concept for the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, and so it’s pretty well arranged. While the competition still has to make compromises, Aston Martin’s side impact protection, radiator and other peripheral parts of the drive unit perfectly adapt to this concept. Now the Brits are taking it to the extreme without giving up their DNA.
The rest of the body has also been heavily revised. They work through the channel Sidepods are now bulkier when viewed from the outside. This philosophy was developed by Alpine and can also be seen at Ferrari. But Aston Martin is a more consistent step up here.
The “Floor Fence” now transitions elegantly into the lower body
The underbody approach has also changed. The front has been modified with a Juniper label (in technical terms “Floor Fence”). The rough start is now followed by a curved transition down the body.
There are also changes at the rear of the hood. There is a new cooling air outlet in the shape of a letter hole. The rest of the shark fin has been modified accordingly. It is crowned above the notch.
Defend against major updates from Mercedes and Ferrari
Even if Fallows emphasized continuous improvements, Aston Martin has acted somewhat conservatively with updates after a strong start to the season, while the competition has occasionally changed entire concepts.
The update comes two weeks after Fernando Alonso called for faster progress in developing the AMR23. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Aston Martin produced its weakest performance of the season so far.
“Letterbox” cooling outlet on the Aston Martin AMR23 in Canada
It is not expected that Aston Martin will be able to overtake Red Bull with the update. It’s more responsive to major updates than Mercedes and Ferrari, which have done well in Spain.
In addition, at the end of June, after the Canadian Grand Prix, wind tunnel and CFD hours will be redistributed in Formula 1. Aston Martin will have significantly less time in the second half of 2023 due to a successful first half of the season. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to stress test the major update.
However, Fernando Alonso believes that the best chance to win the 2023 Formula 1 season has already been lost: “Monaco was probably our best chance this calendar and we were very close.”
“We were 40 or 50 milliseconds short of first place and of course we had a chance racing with the weather. Let’s see when we’ll have the next chance.”
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