(Motorsports news) Stroll has struggled since the summer break, failing to score a point in five races and being knocked out of Q1 in four of them. Stroll stated during the Qatar Grand Prix that various changes in the behavior of the Aston Martin F1 car, particularly the way the rear end appeared to be less settled than before, were not beneficial for him.
Aston Martin’s boss Mike Krack is aware of Stroll’s current challenges, but stated that the team needs to be certain about the Canadian’s issues before addressing them. When asked to describe the adjustments Stroll was having trouble with, Krack responded, “I think we need to prove it first. The fact is that he has lost some competitiveness, and this is something we must understand.”
“We have suspicions and indications, which I believe Lance is referring to.” But then we have to make the necessary modifications to see whether this is confirmed, that if you improve that, he would improve as well.” Stroll recently stated, when asked if the AMR23’s handling characteristics did not fit him, “Yeah, there are things for sure.”
I mean, there are always things with every car, but I think when the car has been really excellent this year, I’ve been extremely satisfied with it. And it’s just recently that things have become more difficult.” Some of the explanation for the move stems from upgrade ‘side effects’ that Aston Martin has been dealing with, and which are thought to have influenced its general form.
“I think we took some philosophical directions, of bringing upgrades aerodynamically, that I don’t think made us go the step forward that we were hoping for,” Stroll continued. “So, we’re trying to understand that and bring some stuff to the car this season to fix that and help the characteristic that we had earlier in the season, where the car was more predictable, easier to drive, and forgiving.” I believe we have lost some of that.
“It’s just a matter of understanding why.” In theory, you want to make the car go faster, but I believe we increased overall downforce while making the car more difficult to drive.” Aston Martin’s attempt to remedy Stroll’s issues is complicated by the fact that his teammate Fernando Alonso is quite content with a looser rear end.
The Spaniard has a distinct driving style that allows him to flawlessly balance the AMR23, something not all drivers are familiar with. When asked if Aston Martin’s efforts to assist Stroll were hampered by Alonso’s comfort, Krack replied, “No, I think at the end of the day you normally do not go into such small detail in terms of understanding.”
“In our case, when you have difficulties, you usually learn more and go into much more detail than if everything was fine.” It’s nothing out of the ordinary. And I believe we will have a tremendous learning experience in that sense.”
Also read: Aston Martin: People “judge too quickly” in the aftermath of the Stroll incident
