Aston Martin have brought the most significant changes to their car among the front-running teams at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The team which lies third in the championship after the first seven races has introduced revisions to the floor of the AMR23 which are aimed at changing how the fences generate downforce. Aston Martin say they are seeking “better performance through the operating envelope”, suggesting they are more interested in improving the car’s overall performance and not simply peak downforce.More significant changes have been made to the engine cover, which has been widened and extended at the upper part. This team said these changes will “improve the interaction with the rest of the car.”
This indicates the revisions are intended to enhance the power of the air around the rear floor, diffuser and rear wing. Any gains in downforce it may find in this area are likely to be especially useful at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where traction is especially important.
Fernando Alonso said the team is finding new areas for improvement all the time and “always trying to improve a little bit” from race to race. “Our car has been a completely new project for Aston Martin, a completely new philosophy, a new concept of how the car worked. We’ve been discovering things at every race this year.
“It’s an optimisation of the package, what we try to do. We’ve been constantly bringing new parts to the races and this is another step forward and more to come in the future.”
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However with wet conditions forecast during much of practice ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Aston Martin may have limited opportunity to evaluate how well the upgrades perform.
Aston Martin’s Canadian Grand Prix updates
Coke/engine cover
Reason for change: Performance – flow conditioning
Difference: “The bodywork is wider with the upper deck remaining high for longer than the previous version.”
Description: “The new shape of bodywork is a small evolution of the current philosophy improving the interaction with the rest of the car.”
Cooling louvres
Reason for change: Circuit specific – cooling range
Difference: “The louvres panels are the same design principal as before but to suit the new bodywork shape.”
Description: “The range of louvre panels are used as before, to vary the cooling setup of the car by modifying the amount of internal flow they allow to exit.”
Floor body
Reason for change: Performance – local load
Difference: “The leading edge of the floor has been revised to bias the height more to the inboard side.”
Description: “The local load on the floor is improved by redistributing the flow between the floor fences to achieve better performance through the operating envelope.”
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2023 Canadian Grand Prix
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- Poor Canadian GP pace “tough to take” after shock second in qualifying – Hulkenberg
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