Lance Stroll and Aston Martin could be taking a performance leap forward as the team introduces a major update to its car at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
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The information was confirmed by Sebastian Vettel during the Miami GP.
After being limited to six points in the first five races of the season, Aston Martin hopes to put an end to the problem of porpoising, this undesirable consequence of the return to the ground effect which makes the car jump at high speed.
The Barcelona layout is recognized as one of the most complete for properly evaluating the performance of cars. It is for this reason that it is used for winter testing between seasons. Thus, several other stables should also test new parts. The opportunity will be perfect to assess progress, while these new single-seaters designed with revised regulations are still full of surprises for engineers.
“I think Barcelona will be a great circuit to show how these ground effect cars work in the high-speed sections, especially the long Turn 3,” Stroll said in a team statement released on Wednesday. This weekend also offers a chance to compare everyone’s progress after testing here earlier this year. These cars are like prototypes and getting better all the time.”
Hard to pass…
Vettel agrees. For his part, he hopes that the ground effect and the reduction in aerodynamic drag will allow more overtaking in Barcelona. Fans hope so too, since the Spanish GP usually offered few on-track battles with the old technical regulations.
“The faster sections will be synonymous with bravery and confidence in the ground effect,” said the four-time world champion. Overtaking has generally been tricky here, but I think these cars have shown they are much better at going wheel-to-wheel, so I believe it will be a different race to previous Spanish GPs.
Free practice will start on Friday and will be followed by qualifying on Saturday. The start will be given Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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