Fernando Alonso he was serene after Hungarian Grand Prix, where he rhythm of the race, perhaps the best virtue of his current car, was very discreet. In that section, McLaren has improved by close to a second per lap, Mercedes 0.4 and even Ferrari would have beaten them a bite, after what was seen on the last two dates. Data varies by scenario, but in one of the most favorablesuch as the Hungaroring, the AMR23 did not walk, although Alonso took pains to take care of the tires to recover something in the final parts of each stint.
putting aside the influence of the new casing, which seems to have less influence than previously thought, after seeing the race rhythms of the Huingaroring, where Red Bull maintained its former superiority “with a few set-up adjustments”, As they recognize from the Austrian team, at Aston Martin they are more likely to think that they can be adapted too to the new internal construction of the tires and that the bulk of the loss is in aerodynamics.
“At McLaren they have done a great job,” grants Tom McCullough, Aston Martin’s chief performance officer, to the international press on Sunday morning in the team’s motorhome.
The biggest improvement of 2023
What he did not want to advance and keep secret in the team, is that They are preparing for after the summer break, surely at the Dutch Grand Prix (August 25-27), although it could also be at Monza (September 1-3), according to what MARCA has learned. It will be a new advance focused on the sides, the DRS and the ground, which is the area in which Mercedes and McLaren have focused their efforts and where they now appear together with Red Bull, the spearhead of the grid. The package that arrived in Canada for the green car did not have the impact than was expected, and with this second effort, already scheduled before the current drop in performancethey could be placed again as the second team, or at least in a position to fight for a podium again.
Taking a look at all the cars this weekend, visually, the work that Red Bull has done on the underbody of their car and on the sidepods is very important, but Mercedes and McLaren also look extraordinarily advanced on the ground of its single-seaters, with sides that have been dug to the maximum and floors that seem to have found the key that only Red Bull had, at least after one lap. In the case of the former, it has been a complete redesign of the concept of the 2022 vertical sidepods. In Woking, according to what they say, it has been an accurate blow. They had a limited budget to improve this year, but every new item has been a hit, according to the word in the paddock.
in Spaappointment that begins this Friday, Alonso must continue to suffer on a track where the engine and top speed, in addition to the balance in sectors 2 and 3, the most technical that exist in F1, are key. They will have to fight in inferiority again to those of Silverstone, before going on vacation.
Hamilton, to six points
Lewis Hamilton is six points behind Alonso’s third in the Drivers’ Championship and one of their goals is to stay ahead before the summer break. “The first half of the year has been outstanding,” he assured after Hungary, aware that he is still in an unreal position for what he expected to start in February. “It’s time to grit your teeth, improve and grow as a team”, placed, perhaps thinking of those pieces that can return him to the situation of power hunt the 33which now looks so far away again.
Between the circuits that could do well to his car (or at least to the beginning of the year) are the one mentioned in Zandvoort (the last weekend of August), Singapore (September 15-17) and quiz Las Vegas (November 6-18). We will have to see if when they arrive they have enough speed to try and if they can recover what they have lost in the last two months.
