Formula 1
Aston Martin: Clawing back Red Bull DRS switch gap is “a challenge”
Aston Martin Formula 1 performance director Tom McCullough admits that trying to match Red Bull's DRS switch performance has been "a challenge" for rivals.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Dec 19, 2023, 1:37 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Since the introduction of the current regulations in 2022 it has been apparent that the Milton Keynes team has gained more straightline speed than others with an open DRS.
Like all teams, Aston Martin has worked hard to catch up, with the latest iteration rear wing seen on the AMR23 at the Abu Dhabi GP last month.
"We noticed Red Bull were very strong at that last year, so they sort of took the march on that," said McCullough. "I remember Jeddah last year was the first time everyone was going, 'Wow, that's quite a big DRS switch.'
"The interaction between the whole back of the car, and the loading on the diffuser, the beam wing, the rear wing, the main plane, the flap, the brake ducts, the interaction of all that's obviously quite different to previous generation cars.
"And getting a stable aerodynamic platform that we don't have porpoising and all those other things that we don't want, getting lots of load, but getting it that when you open the DRS that you have as big as reach as possible is the aim.
"We didn't have a particularly strong one to start off with, and we were just systematically developing to increase that whilst trying to retain stability."
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19
McCullough says it has not been easy to optimise the DRS switch given the compromises involved.
"So all those elements of the back of the car are linked," he said. "There's only so much you can do within the regulations. You're always trying to produce downforce and not have too much drag.
"But then on top of that, to get the DRS switch and get all those things working well, it is a challenge for the aerodynamic teams.
"And that's why you've seen quite a lot of development in that area, not only by ourselves, but by other people too."
Regarding the wing trialled in Abu Dhabi, he said: "For us, it was important to get it on the car the end of this year just to correlate what we see in the wind tunnel and CFD, and we did some cross-car, cross-session compares, and the wing is performing well."
Read Also:
Formula 1Alonso: Aston Martin deserved F1 2023 win "more than anyone else"
Formula 1Hamilton: Aston's rollercoaster F1 season highlights risk of Red Bull copy
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Revealed: The FIA's plans for "nimble" 2026 F1 cars and moveable aero
Next article Williams: "Revered" Fry will help with complete shift of direction in F1 2024
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
20 h
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
Latest news
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 5 h
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 5 h
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
5 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 6 h
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe