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Is Aston Martin Implying They Could Have Been the Fourth Best Team on the Grid This Year?

When the FIA decided to cut back on downforce for the 2021 Formula 1 season, it resulted in alterations to the floor and bargeboard regulations. Since this took place during a time when every team had to carry over their chassis from the previous season, low rake cars such as Mercedes and Aston Martin ended up facing an uphill struggle.
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 7 photos
Photo: Aston Martin F1 Team / Facebook
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
Of course, Mercedes managed to bounce back and win the Constructors Title, whereas Aston Martin went from the fourth-best team in 2020 to the seventh-best in 2021, which is what we call a drastic drop in performance.

However, team boss Otmar Szafnauer says that his outfit wasn’t surprised, seen as how they didn’t have the same performance buffer as Mercedes for minimizing downforce loss, as reported by Autosport.

“What’s happened this year confirmed our pre-season worries that the unilateral aerodynamic changes that were made late in the season had a massive effect on us and Mercedes. Because the midfield was so tight, the lap time that we lost - seven, eight, nine-tenths of a second per lap, depending on what track we were at - moved us from the third-fastest car to about the sixth, seventh-fastest car.”

Because of this, Aston Martin decided early on to focus all of their attention on the 2022 season, and simply hope for the best as far as 2021 was concerned, relying on various small developments.

“At some circuits, a bit of extra drag doesn’t manifest itself into a big lap time deficit. But at other circuits it does. So that’s why we’ve been a little bit up and down this season,” concluded Szafnauer.

While everything he said makes sense, he’s also basically implying that had the FIA not fiddled with the aero rules for 2021, his team could have continued to fight for podiums this year, either as the third or fourth best outfit on the grid. Last year, back when they were known as Racing Point aka the “Pink Mercedes”, the team finished fourth in the Constructors Standings, but very close to third-place Ferrari – just 7 points behind.

Still, even without the regulation changes, 2021 would have surely proven more difficult, especially with Ferrari hitting their stride later on in the year, plus McLaren, Alpine and Alphatauri all performing really well.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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