Aston Martin’s current Formula 1 struggles and Adrian Newey’s new RB17 hypercar make the cover of this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (18 July).
In the early months of last season, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin provided the sliver of hope amid Red Bull domination. Alonso’s five podiums in the first six grands prix suggested it could be the team in green that was most likely to give F1 the fight at the front it desperately needed. But things changed rapidly.
Since then, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have won races, with McLaren’s Lando Norris currently the biggest threat to Max Verstappen. Aston Martin lies a distant fifth in the constructors’ table.
In this issue, Jake Boxall-Legge hears from some of the key players and finds out why the team feels its 2023 form was artificial. And how it could still climb towards the front as new resources and fresh faces bolster the squad ahead of the new F1 ruleset for 2026.
Aston boss Lawrence Stroll has tried hard to get hold of design genius Newey, who was part of the Red Bull celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend. He speaks to Alex Kalinauckas about the RB17 project that aims to provide F1 levels of performance.
The RB17 would need some work to join the World Endurance Championship field, which returned to Interlagos last weekend. Gary Watkins was there to see Toyota dominate ahead of Porsche and Ferrari.
As well as Goodwood, two British GT encounters at Snetterton and the Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix were the big UK events last weekend and are part of our National section.
We’ve also got the latest of our free Engineering supplements this week. The new Extreme H machine, Ford’s Pikes Peak-winning F-150 and Reynard’s successful 1994 arrival in Indycar are all part of the 28-page special.
The first big international motorsport title of 2024 gets decided in London this weekend with the Formula E finale. Jaguar drivers Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans head the standings but history shows that anything can happen in the all-electric series. Stefan Mackley takes a look at the contenders and we’ll bring you his full report in next week’s issue (25 July).
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