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Aston Martin has become the first Formula 1 team to announce the launch date for its 2023 car.
The Aston Martin AMR23 will be revealed on Monday February 13th in an event staged at its new Silverstone campus, which will be broadcast across its digital channels.
The launch is 10 days before F1’s three-day pre-season test in Bahrain, with that week likely to be a busy one for F1 car reveals.
Aston Martin struggled during 2023 with a car that started the season plagued by porpoising problems, forcing it to run at high ride heights and with extremely stiff suspension. This meant it couldn’t produce the anticipated downforce levels, which were dependent on running low.
A major upgrade was introduced for the sixth event of the season in Spain, which chief technical officer Andrew Green described as “underdeveloped” to the point where it fell short even of what would be expected as a launch-spec car.
But this redesign, bolstered by another significant upgrade at Silverstone and then a drip-feed of subsequent improvements, helped it fight back to finish seventh in the constructors’ championship – only missing out on sixth to Alfa Romeo based on countback.
While this broad direction is expected to carry over into next season, technical director Dan Fallows has confirmed there will be “significant differences” with next year’s car within the scope of what is possible in the regulations, even though the rules mean it will not be that dramatically changed visually.
“There is a limit to what we can do with the current rules,” said Fallows.
“New cars always have to pass my test with my children, so if I put them in front of my children and they say they look different, then they look different. They always say they all look the same!
“But within the envelope of the rules that we have, then yes there are significant differences on AMR23.”
One design feature that will not carry over is the unique endplate concept introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
While this was entirely legal, the FIA decided it was against the objectives of the regulations because of concerns about the impact it has on the car’s wake, such designs have been banned for next year.
Next year will also be significant for Aston Martin as it will move into its new facility at Silverstone adjacent to the site it is currently operating out of. It’s expected that the team will move into the main building, which houses the design office, manufacturing and other key departments, in May. However, its new state-of-the-art windtunnel will not be complete until 2024.
