On the Tuesday after the Bahrain Grand Prix, Aston Martin staff gathered at the team’s headquarters just opposite Silverstone for a celebratory photo.
Fernando Alonso’s podium had cemented their status as the second-quickest car on the grid, albeit nearly 40 seconds behind the winning Red Bull of Max Verstappen. But the message from team owner Lawrence Stroll was simply that, while P3 was to be cheered, it was a mere stepping stone to the ultimate aim… winning.
After Alonso’s second podium in Jeddah that message will be repeated tomorrow. At present, an RB19 reliability issue looks the only way that will become realistic but Aston Martin are clearly the only other team to have got to grips with season two of Formula One’s new regulations.
How is it exactly that they have leapfrogged Ferrari and Mercedes from seventh quickest in fact to being the best of the rest?
That begins with last year’s car - the team got their design concept horribly wrong under the new regulations. But rather than try to adapt that car – much like Mercedes have done to their detriment – they realised a new approach was needed, understandably using Red Bull as the benchmark.
Unsurprisingly, foremost in that thinking strategy was new technical director Dan Fallows, who had joined the team from Red Bull. What followed was a car which bore similarities to last year’s title winners and which was a marked improvement on the horror show with which they began the season.
Fallows is an integral part of the Aston Martin jigsaw, so too deputy Eric Blandin, who joined from Mercedes. Their impact, according to performance director Tom McCullough, has been simple. “It’s about creating that atmosphere for creative thinking,” he said. “It’s easy and fun to work with.”
The idea they have been copycats, as was initially levelled last year, is dispelled simply by looking at their sidepods and wings. McCullough added: “You’ve got to look at what people are doing but do it your own way too. Dan did the Aston Martin way.”
It is telling that team owner Stroll went out of his way to individually lure that duo across the grid and get them to buy into his ambitious project. The Canadian billionaire, who primarily made his fortune in the clothing industry, likes to tell team members that he has never worked harder than on Aston Martin’s F1 aspirations.
At the heart of that, is Stroll the former racer. When Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement, Stroll wanted a pure racer in his place alongside son Lance. For him, the only option was Alonso.
He gave the Spaniard the ultimate sales pitch, telling the two-time world champion that, under Fallows’ tutelage, they had a quick car for 2023 - quicker than Stroll had hoped. Alonso bought into the dream and took what initially looked like a drop down the grid from Alpine.
Alonso and Stroll Sr are already friends from the Ferrari days. While Alonso was with the Italian marque, Stroll ran the Ferrari dealership in Quebec and his son was part of the Ferrari driver academy programme.
The Alonso effect cannot be underestimated. When he walked into the garage for the first time, the collective saw a lean and hungry racing driver desperate to win aged 41. He is thought to be in the region of two to three tenths of a lap quicker than Vettel.
Already, the bond behind driver and team is strong. After Bahrain, he said down the radio: “What have you done guys? I’m so proud of you.” Later elaborating, he said: “You can feel the energy in the team. Everybody is working flat out and we are all very motivated.”
The budget cap has helped them too to a certain extent. In essence, they have been able to build up to it but what they don’t boast is the infrastructure built with seemingly bottomless pockets at Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.
Mercedes are central to their rise. They use the Mercedes engine as well as their wind tunnel, their power train and gearbox. Such was the team’s low finish last year, it allowed greater wind tunnel usage.
Their own wind tunnel is being built and opens next year, while their massively expanded factory becomes operational in May. It simply gives the impression that more is to come… essentially the race wins Stroll Sr so aspires to.
George Russell, who trailed Alonso in Saudi, said afterwards: “Aston had pace in their pocket.” The message from within the team is that this is just the start.
