Aston Martin aims to catch up and end Red Bull's dominance in 2023 Formula 1 season
- Rob Fleming
- 14 April 2023
Aston Martin's performance director Tom McCullough has acknowledged Red Bull's impressive start to the Formula 1 2023 season, as the team secured a clean sweep of race wins in the opening three races.
McCullough stated, "Red Bull's car is, from an efficiency side of things, very strong," as rival teams search for weaknesses in their quest to catch up.
Red Bull's RB19 has showcased its superiority in both straight-line speed and cornering ability, leaving competitors puzzled by its aerodynamic prowess. McCullough dismissed potential flaws in Red Bull's cornering speeds, and told media, "It's not as if it's going a lot slower in the corners, so the car is, just overall, a very strong car."
One key factor contributing to Red Bull's dominance has been the effectiveness of their DRS (Drag Reduction System) in qualifying, particularly evident in Australia where the circuit features four DRS straights per lap. McCullough acknowledged Red Bull's strong DRS performance, stating, "Their car is just strong in the corners and very strong in the straights."
Aston Martin, emerging as the surprise nearest challengers to Red Bull in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, is now focused on closing the gap in lap times relative to Red Bull. McCullough highlighted the areas of improvement, and explained, "They're slightly quicker in the corners and definitely faster on the straights at the moment, especially the DRS switch as well. Those are the areas but I do think we need to go to a few different tracks; these are atypical tracks, these first three."
The next race on the Formula 1 calendar is set to take place on April 30th in Azerbaijan, on the challenging Baku City Circuit. Aston Martin will be aiming to make developmental gains and find ways to challenge Red Bull's dominance as the season progresses.
Red Bull's early-season dominance in the Formula 1 2023 season has left rival teams searching for weaknesses in their quest to catch up. Aston Martin, the surprise nearest challengers, are focused on closing the gap in lap times relative to Red Bull, especially in terms of cornering speeds and DRS effectiveness. It will be interesting to see if anything changes in Azerbaijan.
