Aston Martin bucked the trend of the Formula 1 launch season on Thursday with the first team to field a genuine 2022 car.
The system differed from previous releases we’ve seen so far this year, with Haas only releasing virtual renders to reveal its 2022 livery, while on Wednesday Red Bull showcased its RB18, a show car based on the design revealed by F1 last season.
But on Thursday afternoon at its Gaydon base, Aston Martin unveiled its existing design, following the construction of the AMR22 in track condition.
With all the secrecy surrounding the new revolution of F1 rules and with groups reluctant to give important points about their interpretation of the rules, why did Aston Martin settle for showcasing an original car?
“Because we are a fair organisation and we seek to deceive!” joked Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green when asked why his team had opted for a path of smoke and mirrors.
“No, we had a car available and we didn’t need to do a livery pitch, we’re beyond the livery releases this year, we wanted to do the real thing. That is the answer to the question of authenticity.
“I think we’re going to look at other techniques at the beginning. I think there are a lot of other tactics to technify the challenge with the 22 rules and I think at first I see some variations, some of which seem like a theme, but I don’t think it will be long before we all align with the great visual facets of the car.
The maximum visually striking detail of the AMR22 is the design of the pontoon, which features a competitive cut. Green expects to see “several” other approaches when it comes to the pontoon area.
Although it turns out that Aston Martin took a risk with the direction he chose, Green is under pressure that this is a domain that can be rectified over the course of the season if it turns out to be a mistake.
“There are several avenues when it comes to module design,” he said. “We explored one route and I know there are many other routes available.
“One of the design needs of the car was to give us flexibility. I don’t need us to design a car in a progressive dead end. I looked for us to be able to move and look for other areas, freely. in 2022.
“So, for us, replacing the design of radiators and pontoons is on the table for us in 2022. “
As in past seasons, the Silverstone-based team bought back its gearbox and rear suspension from Mercedes. This resolution gives Aston Martin the freedom for progression in other spaces of the car.
“The explanation for this is that the rear of Mercedes is that it comes in a beautiful and tidy package, it’s covered,” Green explained.
“We just bought a gearbox and put our own suspension on it and fought for too long. It seemed like the right thing to do was simply to have the suspension in the gearbox for which the gearbox was designed. It was as undeniable as that. “
“Trying to give us so much more freedom. If we look at the other areas. . . the front suspension is where we may have switched to the front suspension. But then you check to align a chassis with a suspension formula that you’re late; we had to wait until the suspension was lined out before we could outline our own chassis.
“It just wasn’t anything we could imagine, especially with the deadlines and timescales we have. Then we would define a faster chassis than Mercedes. Because we would get the data later than them, we can’t do it. “.
Aston Martin will be the first team to race a 2022 on track, with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll set to take the wheel of the AMR22 for a shakedown filming day at Silverstone on Friday.
“We’re going to reorganize tomorrow and what we were really looking to do was do a shakedown as soon as possible to check the car’s systems and give us time between the shakedown and the Barcelona test,” Green said.
“So that’s the explanation of why shakedownarray so we have time to react. Hopefully we have a smart shakedown and there’s nothing to react to. “
“Because the car is surely new, with no postponements, and the pre-season checks are very short, and the control at the moment is so close to the first race that it will be almost to react, we thought it was going to be smart to get a shakedown before the first check and give us a gap between the shakedown and the first check to react.
“That’s where they gave us the shakedown date, and it made sense to release it the day before. We have the car, the car is really ready, so that was the logic. “
©1999-2022 Shock Media Group
The total or partial reproduction of texts, photographs or illustrations in any form is prohibited.