Lance Stroll explains his Silverstone viral moment as, he along with Mike Krack and Fernando Alonso expand on Aston Martin’s Hungarian GP update, during F1 Belgian GP weekend.
A moment from Silverstone went viral on social media relating to Aston Martin’s Stroll, having a handful of a time in the AMR26 at Copse corner. He lacked front-grip in abundance as he faced huge understeer moment in the corner, making it difficult to turn and balance the F1 car.
Two weeks on since the moment, Stroll explained the moment during his press brief in F1 Belgian GP weekend. He wanted to highlight the balance and grip problems that he has been facing to the engineers studying the data, by undertaking the extreme maneuver.
Stroll explains viral Silverstone moment in Aston Martin F1 car
“We have entry instability and braking at medium-low speed, and then we have this aero stalling, that kind of front-to-floor, front-wing stalling, where we just completely wash out in high-speed corners,” said Stroll in a print media at F1 Belgian GP. “So, a few limitations.
“Yeah, just kind of trying to…I mean, some of these aerodynamic stalls are very hard to see on the pressure taps and, where it’s coming from. So, I’m just trying to kind of give more of an idea to the guys back in Silverstone that are doing aero and everything, what we’re feeling in the car.
“Sometimes it’s hard for them to see it just on data. We’re hoping we improve some of the characteristics, more downforce for sure, but some of these bad aero characteristics that we’ve had for a long time, we’re hoping that we can make a healthier car and just a nicer car to drive [with the upcoming update],” summed up Stroll.
Krack says Stroll wanted to show the weakness, they had alarms on pitwall
While the world saw it via viral clips on social media, since it was not carried on the F1 world feed, Aston Martin trackside engineer Krack had the first view via the alarms on the pitwall. He noted that Stroll always faced issues with the front-end and he wanted to show the extremity of the problem.
They ran as much within the permissible limits and still faced major problem with the front-end, which remains a key weakness. But Krack ruled it out as a mechanical issue. “I think Lance has always been very vocal about the front end,” he said in his media session in F1 Belgian GP.
“I think he wanted to show basically that there is nothing coming from the front even at that high speed if you give more. So, I didn’t see these videos on social media, I saw them live when it happened because you have some alarms triggering on your screens.
“But I think that was mainly the background to show that I can turn whatever I want, there is not more front coming. Yes, with what we ran basically. Because there is limits, there is legal limits in terms of what you can do. So, I think at the end of the day, it’s a track where you need a lot of front, which they didn’t have and I think it was a way of showing that this is a weakness.
“I don’t think at these speeds it’s a mechanical problem,” summed up Krack. Stroll thinks they can only go forwards with the updates with no “strengths” to take forward with the current car that they will run for the last time in F1 Belgian GP and so there is hope of better days.
No strengths to take from current Aston Martin spec to new, as per Stroll
“We can only go forward, so that’s positive,” noted Stroll. “I mean, right now, yeah, it’s been pretty terrible. There’s nothing great, there’s nothing we like about our car. There’s no strengths, so we can only get better.” He reckons the power lack is just one part of issue they have.
The balance limitation and lack of downforce are major problems on chassis side. He hopes that the update in Hungary can uplift their performance. “No, I don’t think so,” continued Stroll. “I think there’s two different issues. We have a lot of things to work on with drivability.
“We’re down on just power, but then, we have a lot of balance and balance issues, limitations, and just downforce. We need to find a lot more downforce. I mean, we’ve had this plan for this upgrade for some time now, so we know the issues we have, and yeah, just all I can say is hopefully we see a big uplift in performance in Budapest and Zandvoort,” summed up Stroll.
Stroll thinks Hungary is a good test for updated Aston Martin chassis
With Hungary being the last race before F1 breaks for summer break, it is strategic to deploy a big update at Hungaroring. The running will help them collect data to churn at the factory. Additionally, Stroll feels the circuit is more chassis-based rather than a power hungry track.
This is ideal for them to test their chassis updates and if it works, it should solve some of their issues, before the power unit update that comes at Zandvoort. “I think Hungary is a good test,” said Stroll. “I mean, it’s not a very power sensitive circuit, so, it’s a chassis circuit, so I think that’s the test.
“If we’re, still very slow in Hungary, then just the power that’s coming…Zandvoort is not going to fix all our problems. It’s just, it’s not a power sensitive circuit, so, yeah, it’s one of those places you need downforce, and good balance, and, [if we are] looking a lot more competitive in Hungary, I think that’s going to be a good sign for the rest of the season,” summed up Stroll.
Alonso doesn’t wish to estimate progress
In terms of expectation and estimation, Stroll’s teammate Alonso didn’t wish to raise high hopes, knowing that the numbers haven’t co-related plenty of times before. Ideally, it should be a positive direction of change, considering that the current car hasn’t worked out.
He feels the step will also help them identify if the direction they have taken will put them in good place in F1 2027 or not. But it won’t be easy to conclude just on Thursday or Friday, he feels they will need at least few races to clearly identify if the evolution is working for them or not.
“Yeah, I think it’s difficult to put a number on the upgrade or an estimation because I think we had enough experience of guessing the performance gains and we didn’t achieve those,” said Alonso in his print media session in F1 Belgian GP. “So I think it’s more for the team proving direction or right direction.
Cannot understand the update in two days of running
“I think the philosophy of the car maybe was not the correct one and we are changing that. We are making different modifications to the car, reducing the weight. So a lot of effort from the factory to fix some of the problems that we saw at the beginning of the year and more than putting a number, as you said, I think it’s just a gain of trust on what we are doing also for next year.
“So I think we’ll see next weekend and maybe after the race next weekend we will have a better understanding. Even on Thursday, on Friday, it will be a lot of test items in Budapest to make a conclusion,” summed up Alonso, who still doesn’t want to raise his hopes.
Alonso warns that updates may still not work in certain type of F1 tracks
He warns that the upgrades may still not work on certain type of F1 circuits like Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, which signals that they are eyeing corner gains. The next half, Aston Martin will have to utilise the circuits where they can perform well with the updates and score heavy in those.
“It will be, I mean, we are now at the back so we can make that kind of a step that you fight for the points,” continued Alonso. “It will be an incredible step but we need to remain calm. I think there’s going to be a couple of circuits that even with an upgraded car it seems that we will not gain much, like Monza or this type of circuits.
“If we think about the upgraded car it will not make a huge difference because there are only six corners and you rely a lot on the energy available on those tracks and things like that and we will not improve much on that area. So I think it will change circuit to circuit and when there is a good circuit or a good weekend we need to maximise that possibility,” summed up Alonso.
Krack concurs on keeping expectations in check
Meanwhile, Krack concurred with Stroll and Alonso about keeping expectations in check. There is positive mood in the camp with the updates, but they don’t want to get their hopes too high. “I think we need to be careful with expectations,” he said.
“We are quite far away from the front but also from the midfield. So, I think we have to put the car on the ground in Hungary. First, we have to see that we have everything because the schedules are tight. We must not forget that. And then we see where we are.
“The most important for all of us is that we go back racing. That is really important for us as a team and that is what we are aiming for. And then we see where we will end up. It will be difficult to make predictions because, as you know, every circuit is different.
“Sometimes you have some weaknesses exposed, sometimes you have more strength exposed. So, it will vary throughout the season. But we are looking forward to improving the car and then see where we get,” summed up Krack, who is confident that Aston Martin can have two upgrades cars on track at Hungaroring, but he cannot guarantee spare parts in abundance to begin with.
Two updated cars in Hungary but can’t guarantee many spares
There could be possibilities of mixing some new and old parts, where they can carry over the parts from the current spec to the new one in case they fall short, but it will not be without discussions and analysis. They will have to be ready with Plan Bs if some components don’t make it on time.
“Everybody works flat out to get the parts, to get the cars ready,” said Krack. “It’s a big undertaking if you decide to do it like that, because you always try to push the deadlines as far as you can. So, it’s a big effort going on at AMRTC at the moment and I’m a positive thinker.
“So I think we will have two cars ready to go. Now, I don’t think we will have 5 spares of each, to be honest. You always have to put scenarios in place, that if you have this and not this, because you cannot make yourself dependent on one part missing and then you cannot do it.
“So there are plans in place, like what if we don’t have that, can we run this? Again, you will not have the full backup for everything, but I think everybody has done a good job in trying to put mitigations in place, but also have Plan Bs for if one or two components don’t make it,” summed up Krack.
