At the beginning of the season, the Woking-based team was struggling to even score points, with drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the top ten for the first time only by the third round, in a chaotic Australian Grand Prix, whereas the team owned by Lawrence Stroll was consistently on the podium as Fernando Alonso bagged six rostrum appearances in the first eight races.
With two races to go, the calendar is not the only one dramatically different. McLaren is the one raking up prizes, with Piastri winning the Sprint Race in Qatar and Norris five times on the podium in the last six races.
On the other hand, Aston Martin had dropped a bit back down in the grid after Alonso’s podium in Canada, with the two times World Champion returning in the top three in Brazil for the first time since Zandvoort.
Only 21 points separate Aston Martin in fourth from the papaya squad in fifth, a gap that does not look as unattainable as it was for McLaren after Canada.
Piastri admitted that the Papaya team has started to see Aston Martin as direct Constructors’ Championship rivals only very recently, citing the race where the first consistent upgrade package was introduced and allowed Norris to finish just off the podium as catalyst:
“Until Austria, no, definitely not. Even the rate that that we managed to catch them, I don’t think it was really ever a target necessarily to beat them.
“It was just to try and improve, and whatever results we got is what we got. The race has been what it’s been – it’s been enough to overtake.”
Eleven podiums in both Sprint and full length races after, the future appears to be much brighter for the British team, especially in terms of development for 2024:
“Of course at this point of the year, we want to stay ahead of Aston and but very firmly, like the teams around us, we’ve got an eye on next year.
“Hopefully, we can come out strong, but definitely at the start of the year, we wouldn’t expect to have the second half that we’ve had,” he concluded.
Photo credits: McLaren
Aston Martin’s Team Principal Mike Krack also commented on the team’s quest to achieve P4 in the standings, which would equal their best result in this decade.
Asked to comment on the value the Brazil podium has after some tough rounds ended in the bottom of the top ten, Krack mentioned its importance as a morale booster, and he says Aston won’t give up on hunting down McLaren.
“It’s a two-stage approach. After what happened over the last months, I think we have to celebrate in the first place because we have managed a turnaround. That’s very important – let’s say that is Monday.
“On Tuesday, I think we have to look at everything and see how we can close that gap moving forward. But I said it all the time, we are continuing the fight and we will never give up.
“We cannot influence what other competitors are doing. The only thing we have in our hands is to do the best possible, 100% at all times. If that is then sufficient to bring the good results like today – we must also be honest, Oscar had a problem – but this is racing.
“At the end of the day, you know we need to try and do everything we can over the last races and then we’ll see where we’re going to end.”
The battle between the two British teams will continue in this week’s round, which will see Formula 1 debuting on a new street circuit in Las Vegas. A new layout always brings more challenges, and the team principal is ready for it:
“I’m always excited about a new venue, a new circuit. You turn the clocks to zero, you know, it means everybody has to do their job, everybody has to prepare themselves well and nobody has any experience.”
“And then it’s Las Vegas, obviously. We’re talking this up so much – we have to be happy and excited about it and we are. It’s going to be interesting how we all handle this and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season,” he concluded.
