Aston Martin has made impressive progress in Formula 1 in recent years, and the development of its 2024 car, the AMR24, has been no exception. However, the team’s technical director, Dan Fallows, has acknowledged that the car’s development process was not as simple as it might seem from the outside. In his own words, work on AMR24 has been “chaotic” at times, and he has revealed that, throughout this process, the team discovered “hidden features” that were not evident at the beginning.
Fallowswho joined Aston Martin in 2022 after a successful spell at Red Bull, has played a key role in the redesign and evolution of the car. The AMR24, despite being an evolution of the AMR23, has demonstrated significantly more competitive performance compared to the previous year, putting Aston Martin in contention for podium positions. However, this success has not been the result of a straight path, but rather a process full of adjustments and unexpected discoveries.
The term “hidden features” refers to those aspects of the car that, initially, did not appear to be crucial or that had not been considered in sufficient depth. According to Fallows, the team realized that certain aerodynamic, suspension and track behavior details of the car only became evident after several tests and adjustments. These “discoveries” have been fundamental to understanding how to squeeze the maximum potential of the AMR24 and, possibly, to make a leap in quality compared to other teams.
These types of situations are not uncommon in Formula 1, where cars are extremely complex designs that can behave unpredictably under different conditions. Teams must be prepared to adjust and modify aspects of the car even after the season has already started, and Aston Martin has demonstrated its ability to adapt quickly to challenges that arise along the way.
Despite this chaotic process, the Aston Martin team, under the direction of Fallows, has managed to put a competitive car on the track that has surprised both rivals and experts. The AMR24, with its improved performance, has allowed the team to take another step in its goal of getting closer to F1 giants such as Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
In short, the development of the AMR24 has been a journey full of surprises and tweaks, with Aston Martin discovering new ways to extract the most performance from its car. As the season progresses, the team continues to demonstrate that, even in the midst of uncertainty and chaos, it is possible to achieve competitiveness in Formula 1.
