F1 team take step ahead of rivals Ferrari in pre-season

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F1 team take step ahead of rivals Ferrari in pre-season

Aston Martin have confirmed the launch date for their new car

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 4 January 2024 13:57 Updated: 16:46

Aston Martin look in good shape heading into the new Formula 1 season as they aim to get an early jump on major rivals including Ferrari.

The team who at times were chief challengers to Red Bull in the early parts of last season have confirmed the launch date for their new AMR24 car on February 12, 2024, which is once again set to be driven by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

Confirmation of the launch appeared on the team's X account, which with an extreme close-up picture of what appears to be Alonso's face is captioned with the words 'hyper-focus' and the launch date.

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Aston Martin were the early stars of last season, exceeding all expectations by reeling out successive podiums to begin the campaign all taken by Alonso.

The team though failed to sustain their development compared to their rivals for the rest of the campaign though and slipped back to eventually finish fifth in the constructors' championship, with Alonso collecting eight podiums including three second place finishes in Monaco, Canada and Holland.

Fernando Alonso stands alongside Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack

The team are looking to build on a strong campaign from the 2023 season

Fernando Alonso collected eight podiums as he shakes hands with Lewis Hamilton

Aston Martin set early plans

Aston Martin are the fourth team to confirm their launch plans ahead of the new campaign, with Ferrari the first by announcing a February 13 date.

Williams and the team formerly known as Alfa Romeo, Stake F1, have both confirmed launch dates much earlier in the month for February 5.

Team boss Mike Krack has reiterated his desire for the team to be at 100 per cent for the whole of next year as they look to now challenge Red Bull.

"It is safety, reliability and then operations first," he said.

"With the operational side, if we do not manage to be at 100 per cent, which we must in each session and each event over the whole year, if we do not manage that, we cannot extract the maximum performance, be it the driver, car, set-up or engineer.

"We must guarantee that we have this box ticked and we have failed to do so a couple of occasions this year, but we know we need to have it right."

12.02.24. Silverstone.

Hyper-focus.

Get ready to welcome the #AMR24. pic.twitter.com/j2bmgshHDV
— Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (@AstonMartinF1) January 4, 2024